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April 26, 2012 I The Lovell Chronicle [ 13
Byron News
Elden solves mystery of the Littlefield house
BY E. DENNEY NEVILLE
548-7829
nevilleart@tctwest.net
Some mystery solving re-
search was recently done by El-
den Sanders regarding the con-
struction of the Littlefield log
house on Main Street by gnomes.
Just kidding.
We know somebody built it.
Gnomes were probably not the
contractors, unless one comes
forth with an ancient building
permit proving that he, and or a
clan of his kind, actually did the
work.
History sometimes needs cor-
recting, especially the word-of-
mouth or foot-in-mouth kind. Nei-
ther is more reliable than what I
hear from the local gnomes.
Elden Sanders (not a gnome)
gave me some information re-
garding what is referred to as
the Littlefield log home on Main
Street in Byron.
A letter from Darrell Sand-
ers dated May 11, 1966, points
out that it was built by Christian
Sanders sometime before 1925.
The Sanders family moved from
Denmark to Utah in 1886. Chris-
tian moved to the Byron area Oc-
tober 10, 1923.
From a letter written by Dar-
rell Sanders dated May 11, 1966,
I quote, "The little log house in
Byron, across from the (LDS)
church was built by Christian
Sanders . . . That's where Chris-
tian died. Loa(?) said he hauled
in two big wagon loads of wood
and his wife made him haul in a
third load. After he got back, he
collapsed in the doorway and died
shortly thereafter."
In a letter written by Fannie
Wolz, who lived close by and knew
the Sanders family well, Chris-
tian is praised as being a good
and kind man, and being very
helpful with all things around the
home. He helped with canning,
kept things repaired and always
cleaned up after finishing projects
he worked on.
This paragraph from Fannie's
letter refers to a kind favor he did
for her.
"One day he asked me if I
minded if he cut a piece of a limb
from an apple tree. As we visited
and worked in the kitchen, Broth-
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COURTESY PHOTO
Mike Johnson playing Santa. Special thanks go to Eagle reader Ed Johnson for sending this
er Sanders kept whittling away
on this apple tree limb. The first
thing I knew he had made a beau-
tiful butter paddle for me. One
that did not stick to the butter and
make the cube rough. I have the
paddle, Grant. Now the mystery
is, who has the paddle now? Mak-
ing butter at that time was the
biggest part of our income. For
many years, this paddle was my
favorite utensil. Many pounds of
butter were made with it that
were sold to the store for soap,
sugar and rolled oats. Those
were the day.s neighbors were
close. We did not dress up to vis-
it. We helped with the work that
was being done."
I would like to thank Elden
Sanders for sharing this with
the Byron news readers. It is a
privilege to learn more about the
people in our community's past.
If you have stories to share,
please send them. We are trying
to create a more complete writ-
ten history of our community.
An interesting note on ge-
netics. Elden Sanders and his
brother Merrill are both accom-
plished and prolific whittlers.
The following paragraph about
the 1950 fire was sent to me
by Vern Keith Dove, a former
resident and longtime, faithful
Byron Eagle:
"Several of us kids had been
out swimming in the old 'Soak'
Cozzens' swimming hole and
were just coming up to the top of
the road up from the river bridge
when we saw the fire. We hur-
ried and tied our horses, I think
somewhere near your folks'
place, and joined my grandpa
Vail and many other town folk
in fighting the fire. Just as I ran
up to join Grandpa, a can of peas
exploded close by and the boiling
contents impacted in grandpa's
left ear. It left a small scar in that
ear the rest of his life but did not
damage his hearing.
"Some of us boys were later
hired to begin the cleanup after-
wards. We started on the freez-
er lockers that folks rented from
them first. We opened the lock-
ers, inventoried and recorded the
renter's names and the contents
in the lockers, then dumped the
meat or whatever. Whew, that
was an aroma I'll never forget.
"Just as an aside, we also
found a wad of various coins melt-
ed together inside the old cash
register-- pennies to silver dol-
lars. The paper money was pret-
ty much gooey ashes. It was im-
possible to count (the money) due
to the intense heat of the fire.
Another article very well done
and thanks for the memories." --
Vern (Keith) Dove
It is always exciting to get
feedback and additional informa-
tion about historical events in our
community. A special thanks to
Keith for taking the time to read
and respond to the Byron News in
the Lovell Chronicle.
Another interesting response
to the Byron News is the pho-
to included above. It was sent to
me from another faithful, former
Byron Eagle-ite, Ed Johnson, el-
dest son of Byron's famous mom
and pop Santa Claus, Mike and
Rula Johnson.
Cowley News
Spring clean.up and Arbor Day celebration planned
BY DRUE TEBBS-MEEK
548-6901
The Cowley Tree Board has
been busy this spring. Five mem-
bers of the board traveled to Wor-
land on April 11 for the statewide
tree retreat put on by Wyoming
State Forestry. The members
all agreed that it was very in-
formative and enjoyed sharing
ideas with other tree boards from
around the state. The Cowley
board was flattered that other
members attending the event
complimented Cowley on its great
appearance and hard work.
The board sponsored the an-
nual 2012 Wyoming Arbor Day
poster contest at Rocky Mountain
Elementary School recently. All
fourth and fifth grade classes were
encouraged to participate. Post-
ers were judged by the board with
the winner being entered into the
statewide Arbor Day poster con-
test. All posters entered may be
viewed at the Cowley Post Office.
Winners were: first place, Mack-
enzie Allred; second place, Gabie
Christensen; third place (tie) Kal-
ley Collins and Lizzy Crawford.
The beautification committee
spent an afternoon planting the
hanging baskets for Main Street
at Greenhouse Gardens. On May
12, the committee will host a bake
sale to raise funds for flowers.
Anyone who would like to help by
donating items may contact Moni-
ca Miller or Marguerite Strom.
On May 19, Cleanup Day and
Arbor Day will be celebrated in
Cowley. The Town of Cowley will
be honored by the state for their
seventh year as a "tree city." The
cleanup will be held in the morn-
ing followed by lunch.
Jim and Clara Smith McDer-
mott hosted a Cowley reunion
on Saturday, April 14, at their
Twin Ponds Estate in St. George,
Utah. The weather was unusu-
ally bad for a spring day in St.
George, but the obliging hosts
just moved those attending into
their lovely home. It was a great
get-together and much visiting
and renewing of old memories
was done. Those attending from
St. George, Pat and Sidney
Tebbs Whalen, Terry and Jo
Tebbs, Melvin Smith and his son
Heman and wife, Don and Glo-
ria Black Tew, Robert and Tonie
Wilcock, Jack and Marjory Wil-
cock, Ira and Lee McIntosh, Bob
and Faye Olson, Jerry and Ter-
ry Welch Brown, Ken and Lizzy
Peterson and Joy Marchant
Bloom. Attending from Las Ve-
gas were Nick and Joan WelCh,
Tim and Judy Doerr Welch,
Golden and Gae Welch, Bob and
Carolyn Crosby Titmus, Marian
Tebbs Pursel and her son, Erv
Tebbs Nelson. Those attending
from Springville, Utah, were Da-
vid and Pamela Welch and from
Roy Utah- Daryl and Barbara
Green. The group enjoyed the
good food and a fabulous visit
with old friends. Jim and Clara
outdid themselves again.
Senior Chatter
Volunteer Day
a success
BY PHYLLIS BRONKEMA
Lovell's Senior Center would
like to say thank you to anyone
who helped in any way with last
Friday's Volunteer Appreciation
Day. Many people turned out,
and all seemed to enjoy them-
selves. Every volunteer received
the prize of their choice, and
there were some nice choices.
A special thanks to the Bank
of Lovell for providing meals for
each volunteer and to Ray Pe-
terson for speaking. A number
of people have been asking for a
copy of his speech.
On May 11 there will be a
special meal for morns at the cen-
ter. Morns may bring other peo-
ple with them to the meal. Each
mother will receive a special to-
ken of appreciation. The May
birthday party will be on May
16, and will feature roast beef.
Also coming up in May will
be two new menus. On Wednes-
day, May 9, a turkey filet will be
served and on May 10, a 'pork
wing' will be featured. No, pigs
do not have wings. It is basically
a good-sized chunk of juicy pork
on a bone. Come try out both
meals, and be sure to tell a staff
member what you think.
One last piece of news is that
the senior center has purchased
all new drinking glasses for use
by its guests.
Don't forget to join all
the fun in cards, dominoes or
both. Cards will be played on
May 3, 17 and 31. Dominoes will
be played on May 10 and 24.
Dustin and Kaiister
Thompson,
Anderson
to wed
Mr. and Mrs. Jayson Thomp-
son of St. George, Utah have an-
nounced the forthcoming mar-
riage of their son, Dustin, to
Kalister Anderson, daughter of
Kathy Charles and Scott and
Jana Anderson, of St. George,
Utah.
The wedding will be held at
Sand Hollow Resort in Hurri-
cane, Utah, on May 5 and the re-
ception to follow.
Illl I I
Please submit wedding and engagement
announcements
to us via ernaih Icnews@tctwest.net;
fax:307-548-2218;
or send to our office at
234. E. Main St., Lovell, Wyoming 82431
........... iiii l]llj I
Get Growing with Gary
It's berry time in the garden, but think before you plant
BY GARY EMMETT
getgrowingwithgary@gmail.com
Now is the time to be plan-
ning and planting your small
fruits. This would include raspber-
ries and strawberries. If you want
other types of berries, currants,
gooseberries, grapes and blackber-
ries will fit the ticket. As for blue-
berries, these need a lot of extra
care to be successful. You are able
to find berries as bare root plants
at most greenhouses, garden cen-
ters and other home improvement
stores.
But remember not all berries
are easy to grow by just placing
them in the ground. Think before
you buy. Plan out where you are
going to grow these wonderful lit-
tle morsels and then wait to enjoy
the harvest.
Strawberries are mostly divid-
ed into two categories: Day neutral
and June bearers.
Day neutral varieties will pro-
duce a heavy crop in June and
then continue with another flush
in July and then another crop as it
starts to cool in the fall. These are
the most commonly planted for the
homeowner. Varieties
that you will find
would be Sea-
scape, Heck-
er, Trib-
ute and Ft.
Laramie.
Ft. Lara-
mie is a very
hardy vari-
ety that has
a parentage
claim to Wy-
oming.
June bearers will
usually give one flush of
fruit in June and then be very spo-
radic with any other fruits for the
rest of the season. However, June
bearers will usually produce the
largest berries of all varieties.
Raspberries are quite com-
mon and fairly easy to grow with-
out many problems. You will find
everbearing varieties and stan-
dard. Everbearing will give you
two crops: early summer and
then again in the fall. Watch
out for early frosts in the
fall. Standard
raspberries
will give you
a large flush,
lasting for
a couple
of weeks.
These are ide-
al for jams and jel-
lies.
Other berries
such as currants, goose-
berries, grapes and blackberries
are not as common in the area but
do quite well. Wild currants have
dwindled in the area but many ru-
ral homes still have the bushes. I
am still looking for some home-
made currant jelly like my grand-
mother used to make. Gooseber-
ries are a wonderful sweet treat.
Both grapes and blackberries will
need strong fencing to hold their
running branches and brambles.
Another note about blackber-
ries is that you will not want to
plant them near your raspber-
ries. Blackberries can carry a
virus that will infect your rasp-
berry patch that can eventually
wipe the whole patch. So, plant
with caution.
Blueberries require a will-
ing and patient gardening hand.
Blueberries are normally grown
in areas of high acid soil and soil
that is very rich in organic mat-
ter, neither of which is found in
our area. However, if you are
ready for the challenge there are
certain steps that you can take to
try and get blueberries to grow
in Wyoming. For each plant you
are wanting to plant, you will
need two different varieties for
pollination. You will need to dig
a hole that is about three feet
by three feet and about two feet
deep. You will then need to loos-
en and moisten a couple of peat
moss or coconut coir bales.
If you have rich compost that
is really broken down, mix to-
gether and fill up the hole and
plant your plants. This will cre-
ate an environment that is good
for growing blueberries.
We have a tendency to stick to
what we have grown in the past.
Gardening should be about the
adventure. Try something new
and different. Wouldn't you like
to be the one at the local social
gathering to say, "Guess what I
am growing this year?"
If you have any garden-
ing questions, please feel free to
email at getgrowingwithgary@
gmail.com
