Casino Star Theatre, Gunnison

So we showed up at the theatre at 7:30 a.m. on August 19. Lynn Pickett was there with his backhoe, delicately digging out the no-longer-needed oil tank for the recently removed 50-year-old furnace. While Lynn was working, Peterson Refrigeration and Mechanical’s workers (fifth-generation guys in the family business) arrived to begin the duct-work for the new air-control system. In the meantime, Rick Bodell came in to install beautiful acoustical panels, clad in a lush paisley fabric, while electrician Kim Madsen of Manti set about establishing updated wiring to power the air system. Read the rest of this entry »

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At the south end of Gunnison, just where Heritage Highway 89 crosses the Sanpitch River, the Gunnison Riverwalk winds down from the road on both east and west sides, extending about three quarters of a mile in both directions. Along the walk, young trees are getting their roots down in expectation of a lovely wooded walk a few years hence. The biggest surprise, though, as you cross under the highway, is a 218-foot mosaic featuring the Sanpitch Dragon, a beautiful, colorful 110-foot benevolent monster created by volunteers from Gunnison Valley.

The Sanpitch Dragon is the largest outdoor mosaic in Utah and well worth a visit. Streetside parking is available on both sides of the street. When you stroll down under the bridge, you’ll hear this Dragon R-O-A-R!!!

Here’s a link to a preview: Dragon Picture

I am very interested in artists and artisans with Utah roots. I was pleasantly surprised to find that an outstanding violin maker has a school and shop in Mt. Pleasant where he trains students in the art of violin making while concurrently making violins. Do you have any information on other artists and artisans who work relatively close to Utah County? I will be coming down for Spring City’s Heritage Days and would be very interested in visting shops and studios. I am a collector of sorts. If you can offer any suggestions, please do so in the next day or so. I will be in the area during Memorial Day Weekend?

By the way, are there any motels or bed and breakfast Inns who have special offers during the upcoming weekend?

To be one in a cast of 500 for the Mormon Miracle Pageant is a GREAT experience. Please try OUT! You don’t need acting lessons and it is a wonderful opportunity for the whole family. To try out go to the Manti Stake Center at 295 South Main on Tuesday or Wednesday May 20th and 21st from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm.

If you open the phone book in Sanpete you will find a lot of people with the same last name. For a small community this is significant. Your first reaction may be that “we are all related”, but this isn’t necessarily the case.The first pioneer settlement in Sanpete was the town of Manti in 1849. Over the next several decades thousands of Scandinavian immigrants came to the Sanpete Valley as converts to the LDS Church. Ephraim and Spring City have both been called “Little Denmark”. Thus, today the phone book is filled with the names of Anderson, Christensen, Peterson, Nielson, Johansen,….ETC… on and on, and with their variations in spelling. I looked in the phone book today and counted over 130 listings of families and businesses with the same last name as mine, and this did not include those with an alternate spelling. Aside from my parents and two uncles, none of us are related.

Nicknames have been very common in Sanpete just to distinguish families with the same last and sometimes even the same first name. Occasionally nicknames have been use so widespread that many people won’t know who you are talking about if you refer to a person by their ‘real’ name.

Because of the prominent Scandinavian heritage in Sanpete, every Memorial Day weekend Ephraim City has a Scandinavian Festival. The festival includes a:

• Scandinavian Heritage Conference
• Parade
• Folk Dancers
• Quilt Show
• Ceramic Workshops
• Craft/ Food Booths
• Scandinavian Dinner
• Historical Tour of Ephraim
• 5 & 10K Fun Run

So if you have ancestry from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, or Iceland, you may want to check out the festival.

Scandinavian Festival Information