DRIVE WITH CAUTION WHEN DRIVING PAST HEBERVILLE, JUAB COUNTY-PART ONE

1. There are a lot of places in Juab County, Utah, where folks speed by and don't take the time to slow down for people and deer that are there. Such places are Joy, Starr, Broadhead Ranch, Mills, Juab, Chicken Creek, Nortonville, Knightsville, Diamond, Robinson and Heberville. Today's history lesson isn't taught in Nephi Schools, but we will write of downtown Heberville. Being there is great, but driving up and down State Rd 132 is more dangerous than diving blind at the Indy 500. The folks that are flying by don't give a hoot about safety, and one place is called Deadman's Curve for a good reason and seldom patrolled. If you don't know where it is, one turns at the only street light in Nephi and go east past the golf course; past the old Nephi gun range on the left; past Bobs pond, and be careful at Slaughter Point, as that is where more deer are killed than by local deer hunters. One was killed by a big truck that dragged it to its final resting place before it went to the deer heaven above. Just before you turn left to go up to the Nebo Loop Road, you are now in Heberville. It was named after Heber Ockey, and there are three Ockey Homes there. Heber farmed there as did his son-James H. Ockey Sr. and then his son James H. Ockey Jr. and so is his son-Kevin James Ockey. And it is No Trespassing, for good reason. I spent yesterday with the grandson of Heber, and that was James H. Ockey, Jr.  He is 93 years old and Jimmy is as sharp as he was when he was a teacher and I was a full time Substitute teacher. I also got information from Jimmy's son who is Kevin James Ockey, and if you get your insurance from him, he may show you the panoramic photo in his office. My sister Jaynette took a photo of Heberville, and if you got good eyes or a telescope, you may see a small cabin in the middle that was the school over a hundred years ago. That photo was duplicated by Kimo's Camera of Nephi. The two boys on the left may be the Ockey boys or the sons of the photographer. In the middle of he photo, near the Derick and the haystack;  horses and the puffing train coming up the track. Highway 132 changed as it had swung up to what they used to call Sand Cliffs. The School had a dirt floor and also used as a Church. It its day, there were a lot of homes around there as their were salt mines; Andrews Canyon which shipped Red Rock through out the world on a railroad spur that went up there. It is too dangerous to stop and see the railroad trestle near the Ockey Campground. The Ockey's were forced to close that popular place, basically due to legal squabbles with new Nephi City officials and their selected leaders who is said to want more water from Hops Spring to bring more people to Nephi. T and not farms. That saga continues, much to the dismay of this writer, who fought for the Ockey's when I was on the City Council-but I  often voted alone. On the right side of the dimensional photo lived the Evan and Eliza Harris family of a hundred years ago, and that is where one of his sawmills were. The home foundation is still there as well as one of the apple trees. Jimmy Jr. showed me a fork made of brass, that probably was that of Eliza Harris. They had several sons to help with the logging business to build pioneer homes. More photos are at Part Two. Hops Springs is called that because of the Hops plants, and yes they are used for beer, but only in St. Louis, but they are a magical and mystically herbal remedy for.....Root Beer!!! Cheers
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