America will always have hero's, but it isn't often we have them in the movies and in real life.

Gary Cooper played the role of a strong, silent hero in the movies, but one in real life as well. For ten years, he suffered from cancer and fought it valiantly without complaining and without the public knowing. He died in May, 1961, at the age of 60. Another such hero is John Wayne. After filming Fort Apache and other westerns, General Douglas MacArthur addressed John Wayne saying "Young man, you represent the cavalry office more than any man in uniform". The Duke was born as a 13 pound whopper, in Iowa, as Marion Morrison. As a kid, his best friend was his dog named "Duke". He received a football scholarship to USC, and as a student, started in the movie business as an extra doing stunts. Even in Utah, one of his quotes remains popular...."I never trust a man that doesn't drink". John Wayne was a devoted family man, raising two sets of kids. His third wife, Pilan, requested the word "obey" be dropped from their marriage vows. Wayne consented, saying "None of the others ever obeyed me anyway". President Reagan recalled when Wayne and Jimmy Stewart attended his second inauguration as governor of California, during the height of the Vietnam War. "They encountered a crowd of demonstrators under the banner of the Vietcong flag," Reagan remembered "Jimmy had just lost a son in Vietnam. Duke excused himself for a moment and walked into the crowd. In a quick moment there was no Vietcong flag". On another occasion, during a protest, a man was dishonoring the American flag, when Wayne "duked" the guy. Nearby police officer's refused to cite John Wayne, who stood up for America. During the mid 1960's, while John Wayne was flying to a military base to film "Green Beret", the Duke sat next to a Nephi, Utah Airman named Weston Jones. John Wayne knew Utah and respected our military. In their three hour chat, John Wayne seemed to know more about Nephi and Utah then the local Jones boy. After getting off the plane, John Wayne held the media and the North Carolina Governor at bay, until Airman Jones got off the plane at which point Wayne bid Jones farewell, telling him to return home safety. Out of 171 films, John Wayne died in only eight. To some of us, he will live forever.

It seems that many people no longer have trust in the media for truthful news so have to go to the King of Tweeter.

Because of what appears to be in your face exploitation, I haven't watched the TV news for about forty years. However, I have the time to read all newspapers I can get a hold of. I can be more selective in what I choose to read, then do my own research before making a judgment or protesting. However, I was somewhat taken back when I read the headlines in Utah's Deseret News. Most of the headlines made sense such as "U.S. Steel, China sign $1 billion mining deal" and "Storm sinks 3 ships, drops snow on Riviera." With the protests going on-justified or not, I thought it may be over the edge when it declared "Protesters face U.S. deportation". My news today is real news, but real deceptive, perhaps like anything we read or see on the TV news. The Deseret News I was reading was printed in 1979. And yes, there was good news back then, such as hamburgers selling for three for a dollar and gas at 52 cents a gallon. Just be careful how you read "news". It may not always be the real truth.

Boy, what a circus! First the good news, then the bad news and today it's good news again!

The first good news came via The Times News in that May 27, 1965 edition. The second largest circus in America was coming to Nephi, Utah and with real live Elephants. Local kids had to go to both performances for the one day event. The bad news was brought to us earlier this month by the Salt Lake Tribune which reported the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus were closing after 146 years of bringing delight and education to kids and adults. Various reasons were listed among which were groups thought the Elephants were not treated right, but the Courts determined the allegations were unfounded and awarded the Circus owners $25 million to be paid by the complainers. Other people thought that video games had taken the place of the circus. Regardless, it was a thrill to see animals that most folks would not otherwise see, so here is the good news again. In today's Daily Herald, it shows there is another circus appearing in Orem for the next couple nights, so here is your chance to see colorful, colossal clowns and other wild animals!

When does royal bliss come to the Royal Bliss! I think I found out last night when I attended their concert.

Friday in Nephi, Utah was slow last night, so I asked the clerk at Taco Time if they still dragged main. The teeny bopper told me that people quit that sort of thing decades ago. While awaiting my two soft bean burritos I observed a large RV pulling a trailer  up Track Street, then turning toward the Salt Creek Sports Lounge. The large "Royal Bliss" sign didn't give me a clue who they were, so I had to follow. It appeared they got stuck going up the incline to the lounge, so I pulled over to watch that entertainment. It was apparent the driver had never backed up a hay wagon, as it got stuck backing up. I giggled at them, then drove south on the frontage road, waving at the band members who got out to consider their options. I soon felt guilty and returned to see if I could help but they had made it up to the lounge. The incline was pure ice. I went home and googled their name, only to find out they were doing a concert at the lounge. I had no choice but to put on my new John Deere cap and go to their concert to apologize for laughing at them. Although I didn't ID any of the 180 plus people that attended, it appeared the average age was 40 to 45 years younger than me. Their music was not my cup of tea, but the youngins loved them. I walked about then thought I better head home to watch a brand new re-run of the Lawrence Welk show. The Venue is very impressive, however, and hope more concerts return. One thing that history teaches us-is that some things never change. The use of Alcohol can often make people funny, especially on a dance floor!

Is there life after......................Life after being a Coach at Juab High School!

If you ever attended Juab High School in Nephi, Utah, the main question all students ponder.....can we beat North Sanpete and take State this year? But what about the Coaches....their questions may be... will they have a life after being a coach. In 1959 and 1960 the basketball coach was a local guy named Marcus Garrett and he led the School to two consecutive State Championships in Basketball, and it was thought nobody could live up to those high expectations. So just for fun, I did a seek, find and chat with former basketball coach Kelvin Clayton, and yes, at age 81, he is very much alive and kicking, living in Orem. After his time at Juab he went on to the Illinois Education system; back to Utah with Ogden, then the Utah office of Education. Like all good teachers, he received the "Golden Apple Award". He served for 8 years on the Orem City Council and holds the record for getting the most votes without really trying. But dang it to heck, I wished he would have told me he had been an LDS Bishop before I used those curse words. Although Juab folks think highly of football and basketball, he wanted to point out he led Juab to two consecutive Tennis State Championships and remembered the names of the kids on the teams. Needless to say Kelvin Clayton did well in life, and still likes to keep physically active with hunting, fishing, hiking and biking, and staying in touch with Jimmie Ockey, a life long friend.

Time for a little Back to the Future! From the 6th grade of 1959 at Central School in Nephi, Utah.

Oh we had dreams back then. Some of them came true, while others of us are still pursing them....at a slower rate. The names listed on the back are did so with my 6th grade mentality. The names start with teacher-Dwain Bracken and goes to the right, then with the second row it starts from the right and goes left; then drops down and goes from left to right again. Missing on the day of the picture is Gloria Gustin. Indications are that I was not a good speller back then, and not sure howell two muchy batter now. Sorry about that.

Welcome to Nephi, Utah, the Juab County Seat of America.

Some folks that live in Utah's Juab County prefer this rural area, as it is close enough for a night at the concert, but lacks the crime, crud, crazy drivers and cramped quarters of the bigger cities. We welcome your visit and if you wish to set up permanent residence, the only major hurdle is to know the difference between a horse and a mule. Once you have shown that, it is a breeze to set up a tent. We just acquired a variety of lands by way of President Rutherford B. Hayes, one of which we have listed. Most folks work here, with plenty of jobs available at Rancho Trailers; the Rubber plant; hoeing beets or cleaning out irrigation ditches. The Juab County Mill is always looking for a hard worker. For entertainment, you can watch the professional anthropologists out in Nortonville, digging up the historical remains of our ancient dwellers. The Ute Stampede is our favorite though. We are the gateway to the wonders of Southern Utah.

The toxic smog in the valley of salt penetrated the unhealthy air.....

The toxic smog penetrated the Salt Lake Valley of unhealthy air on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2014, so I decided to escape and drive to Nephi, then up the canyon to Salt Creek, with the intent to fish. Most folks don't drive there in the winter, so it was nice to drive without people who always seem to be in such a hurry to go nowhere. The snow was three feet deep on both sides, but the road had been plowed and good to drive on. It is no longer easy to find a Utah road to take a leisure Sunday drive on, so I took my time, enjoying the magnificence of Mother Nature-in all her glorious splendor. The nearby creek had the crisp and fresh water flowing down with no apparent destination, but it hurried with great intent. The barren trees were at a standstill of growth, but their bark absorbed the moisture of the frost which produced a beautiful glaze with clear blue skies in the background. During that awe inspiring drive, I noticed a moving creature on the snow covered road at some distance from me. Although there was little ground in which to find feed or cover, it darted from left to right, then back to the left, unable to jump over the snow drift. I slowed, as I didn't want to interrupt whatever process I was watching. The closer I came, the more unclear it was to identify it. It had the darkness of a squirrel, and yet larger than those I have seen. It appeared to be grey. Perhaps it was a fox or of that species. As I drew closer, I could tell it wasn't a squirrel as there was no tail on it. I then quickly dispelled that thought, as it was possible that in the cold winter months, perhaps it shed that bushy appendage. I continued to slow down so as to watch the magnificence of the maneuverability of such a creature. The closer I came, the more relentless it darted back and forth, little knowing of my amazed curiosity. I was so caught up with the whole process, I didn't realize how quickly I had actually picked up speed, and it was then, only then, I recognized my left front tire hit it. It was too late to brake, and I was expecting a thump thump as the left back tire also struck it. But there was no noise or texture to the creature. I then stopped to exam what in tarnation I had watched and struck. I felt relieved when nobody had watched or knew what I did.........I struck and hit......a plastic bag.

It is the middle of winter in Utah's Juab County, but we still got fish.

There is a lot of snow round about Nephi, like a lot of other places, but the good thing is you can still fish in waters not froze over. This is a Rainbow Trout we caught on Saturday, which was fat and a boot long. Since it has been fifty years since I fished these parts, I wasn't sure what the limit was here, so we caught only one until I got home and checked the "Fish & Game Laws of Utah". I guess we could have fished for more as on page 26 it reads "to catch not more than ten pounds of game fish or not more than thirty game fish in any one day", so we could have gone back for another twenty nine, but it was so dang cold I hate to explain how we kept the wiggly worms warm. I thought the regulations must have been a mistake, so I tried to call Bob Howard, the local game warden, but couldn't find his number and couldn't even get an operator to assist me. So what the heck, I was going to the top and call State Fish and Game Commissioner George Harrison, but I remembered he joined the Beatles awhile back, so not sure what to do now. The good thing is that "The Sportsmen's Creed" hasn't changed much since 1945....afterall, it is just good horse sense.

In Juab County, you can hide your cash the same way they hid booze during prohibition days.

In the Nephi, Utah Jones family, we hear tell of a time when one of our own had a unique way of hiding his bottle during prohibition days. He put it in a barrel of grain, thus keeping it the proper temperature summer and winter without Elliot Ness ever dream of shaking down the old barn. Not long ago I heard another tall tale about how another local hid his cash the same way, as he grew up during the depression when banks went belly up. When he died, the farm was sold, and the newcomers have not yet been able to locate the stashed cash, if there really was any. Although our family no longer has grain drums or the barn, we have located two coin purses, one of which we previously wrote of. Both are pictured and trying to figure out whose the new one belonged to and what to do with it. Although it may not show up on the scan, the contents are two wheat pennies, one appears to be 1912 and the other 1920. It is only an assumption, but we figure the coin purse is about a hundred years old. Do we give them to the Daughters of Utah Pioneers or what! We need your two cents worth! The newer coin purse has the back inscription of "Genuine Llama Calf", which is baffling, as our family only dealt with cow leather. Perhaps we will give it to the next Llama calf that claims it or to the "Save the Llama Foundation". Perhaps it belongs to Butch Cassidy when he returned from South America.

All Give Some, Some Give All. January 9th is Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.

Today is the day to get the LEAD out. It is Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Of the seven officers we list, two were killed in the line of duty and both acts were linked to local law enforcement and our communities. Additionally, each of those cops contributed in other areas such as the military; church or civic activities. Randy Ingram not only had 20 years of service with the National Guard, but worked for Nephi City; Juab County and Dick's Service. Ray Jackson not only served as the Juab County Sheriff, but went on to serve as the Utah Public Safety Director and a Major in Nephi's 145th Field Artillery, fighting the Japanese Empire during World War II. Ray Jackson and Beaver Police Chief Gerald Nowers had the same "old school" ways of being a cop. If you did a misdeed, they either took you up the street and kicked your butt or took you to your parents, and they kicked your butt. Chief Nowers kicked butt all the way up "Battle of The Bulge". Pete Hayward was short and stocky, with the same girth and grit as Gene Fullmer. You didn't want to box either of them. Pete learned to be tough in the Navy. For a cop, you couldn't ask for a better guy to be arrested by than Capt. Glen Cahoon. He could talk you in to surrendering with no shots fired. Jim Simmons could arrest you, but take you fishing once the matter was finished. I pay tribute to these cops and all others who serve us. Sgt. Wride stood for what Utah is all about-family, the deer hunt, riding horses and service.