222 F A Reg Utah National Guard Crest

KATHY:   This is the crest of the 222 F A Reg Utah national guard  of which Btry D Mt Pleasant was a part .  My memory and my resources are all a bit confused as to our crest after few  were federalized March 1941.  It was definitely not the crest (if they had one) of Btry A 204^th FA bn which is what the Mt Pleasant unit became.   It was this crest that gave us the name of Mormon Bn and also sheepherder.  I think the soldier is a replica of the statue on the Capital grounds.

 If there are any Btry D 222^nd FA vets still around  (I think I may be the last one)  they can claim service with the Mormon Battalion.   Pre WW2 while  still a Utah National Guard unit  the 222^nd FA regiment was called the Mormon Battalion.  Our regimental crest was a Mormon battalion soldier on a shield.  Other outfits call it the “sheepherder”.  When we were federalized we had to use a nationally recognized crest. 

   Henry Weeks Sanderson of Fairview Mormon Bn and I would guess some  Allreds  from Spring  City were.    lee

Lee R. Christensen and Bob Scanlon Join Re-Enactment of "Custer's Last Stand".

KATHY;  

In June 1986 I motored to Billings ,Montana where I met Bob Scanlon who had flown in to save energy for the ride . We rented a trailer that opens  into a   tent and headed for the Little Big Horn Battle field    I think in '86 it was still called the Custer battlefield. We  were spectators at the military burial of the remains of a Custer trooper who had been discovered on the battlefield summer of '85 following a brush and grass fire that exposed  parts of the battlefield.  

   Following the services we joined a group  that included   re-enactors and  motored  the roughly 15 miles to the "crow's nest"   where we spent the night in our rented trailer  and near the re-enactors in their tents.   The crow's nest if a high point (not too high) on the divide between the Rosebud river and the Little Big Horn and the point historians say Custer first had a chance to survey the Indian camp.   He stopped there long enough to take a deep breath and his men time to check the cinches on their horse and continued what turned out to be about 24 hours in the saddle.   Scanlon and I spent a restless night wondering if we   could live thru 6 hours in the saddle.
  
 Next morning we got up to the "rise and shine" bugle call of the reenactors, ate breakfast ?, were given  our rented horses, Seabicuit was not one of them and  as a group headed towards the battle field.. We had been joined by other mounted riders on their own horses and with the re-enactors may have   been one hundred riders and horses.  
  
 We departed our camp ground about 9am, not far off Custer's time.  The re-enactors had a semblance of military order  the rest of us none and some were having trouble staying on their horse.  Custer was in hurry and as I remember covered the distance in about 4 hours.  Our re-enactors were shooting a documentary and stopped frequently to re shoot.  The ride took us about eight hours and gave us a taste of what  Custer's troopers were experiencing after 24 hours in the saddle. 
  
 As had been my practice on trips for some years I was carrying my camera and plenty of film.  Shot a folder full of reasonably good photos and when U tube came along ,with the help of my daughter Tracy, we made a  U tube presentation.  You can certainly use it and any of the other photos I took on the ride.  Both Custer and I need the espouser - he  to lighten his blemished reputation, me,  to enhance mine.   Some photos to follow.    lee  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVFgwJtKKEM 

More on Custer:  http://articles.latimes.com/1986-06-26/news/mn-21400_1_trooper-mike  

Curse of Orson Hyde

KATHY:   An item for your “Hyde” file.   My mother ‘s Parke family was with Hyde in Nevada.  They too gave up their acreage to return to Utah without being compensated.  While doing family research in the Carson City area I talked with Nevada’s Land Commissioner and he said they had no reason to complain “they had not paid anything for the land ”.    Had they stayed the State would have asked them to pay for it.  Lee

The Curse of Orson Hyde

When the Mormon faithful returned to Zion in 1858 at the call of Brigham Young, many were required to abandon the fruits of their labors in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada. One such was Orson Hyde, the magistrate sent west to arrange the affairs of Carson County. He had constructed a sawmill in Washoe Valley between the present sites of Reno and Carson City and had sold the mill before returning to Utah. But he had managed to get only "one span of small oxen, and an old wagon," as part payment on the $10,000 sale price. The rest was never forthcoming, despite Hyde's best efforts to collect.

After five years Hyde had despaired of ever collecting, and planted his suit "in the Chancery of Heaven" by reading, in the Utah legislature of which he was a member, an open letter to the people of Carson and Washoe valleys. The letter read in part:

"The Lord has signified to me, his unworthy servant, that as we have been under circumstances that compelled us to submit to your terms, that He will place you under circumstances that will compel you to submit to ours, or do worse.

"That mill and those land claims were worth $10,000 when we left them; the use of that property, or its increased value since, is $10,000 more, making our present demand $20,000.

"Now if the above sum be sent to me in Great Salt Lake City, in cash, you shall have a clean receipt therefor, in the shape of honorable quitclaim deeds to all the property that Orson Hyde, William Price, and Richard Bentley owned in Washoe Valley. The mill, I understand, is now in the hands of R. D. Sides, and has been for a long time. But if you shall think best to repudiate our demand or any part of it, all right. We shall not take it up again in this world in any shape of any of you; but the said R.D. Sides and Jacob Rose shall be living and dying advertisements of God's displeasure, in their persons, in their families, and in their substances; and this demand or ours, remaining uncancelled, shall be to the people of Carson and Washoe valleys as was the ark of God among the Philistines. (See 1st Sam. fifth chapter) You shall be visited of the Lord of Hosts with thunder and with earthquake and with floods, with pestilence and with famine until your names are not known amongst men, for you have rejected the authority of God, trampled upon his laws and his ordinances, and given yourselves up to serve the god of this world; to rioting in debauchery, in abominations drunkenness and corruption . . . .

"I have no sordid desire for gold, and have manifested by my long silence and manifest indifference; and should not say anything now had not the visions of the Almighty stirred up my mind . . . .

"I care not what our mill and land claims are, or were considered worth - whether five hundred thousand dollars or five cents - twenty thousand dollars is our demand; and you can pay it to us, as I have said, and find mercy, if you will thenceforth do right, or despise the demand and perish. . . .'

Orson Hyde


From The Complete Nevada Traveler by David W. Toll




 I’m off to Yakima for Spring Break  and out of touch.      Seventy years ago it would have been Santa Cruz “where the girls are”.   Amazing how much wisdom you can pick up in seventy years>?   lee

Story Of Jeri

KATHY:  I’m currently having some sight problems and I’m scheduled for eye surgery early July.  In the meantime I’m taking eye drops morning, noon and night to get the eye ball in shape.   I tell friends that  won’t know better that I trailed too many sheep too many miles .  But as you and I know I’m just old.  Which is to say it may be some time before I finish my unit history roster .   So I’m sending you a story not exactly Mt Pleasant history but one I like for your consideration.  Page 314 from “Buddie” but attached here with a photo of Jeri.  She is on the right as we look at the photo.  With her the SSA Regional Commissioner , seated,, and Mark Thome and Doris Delcelo.   

KATHY: And I should have added  "And Jeri has never sued" >!  lee

Lee R. Christensen

July 28, 1998

The story I didn’t tell at Jeri Burgess’s retirement party May 30, 1998.

After a high octane introduction during which my retirement title was mentioned—Deputy Assistant Regional Commissioner for Field Operations-I rise and respond.

If I may paraphrase my old friend, Winston Churchill — “Never in the course of human endeavor has so much title covered so little responsibility”-then my Jeri story.

The speakers here this evening have all been talking about Jeri—but I want to talk about Ms. Burgess.

The Seattle Regional Office was an ongoing, but young bureaucratic organization when I reported for duty, October 1970. Because I was at work my first Monday before the Bremerton ferry docked, I was able to spend time comparing baseball careers with the Regional Commissioner. When his gatekeeper arrived, he said, “Let me introduce you to Ms. Burgess. She’ll introduce you around and show you your office.” I met Ms. Burgess. She showed me around. She introduced me to my secretary—a young lady from Bremerton. She showed me my office.

I noticed my secretary was wearing a small addendum to her name tag that read “Selected by Jeri.” Under my office room number was the same information “Selected by Jeri.” All the major pieces of furniture in my office carried a similar tag, “Selected by Jeri.”

Three or four days later as I was coming out of the Regional Commissioner’s office where we had been discussing the crisis of the moment—where to eat lunch—Ms. Burgess stopped me. “Mr. Christensen,” she said, “you look very handsome in your California casual suit, but this is Washington, Puget Sound, Seattle, and we have our own very distinctive style. Why don’t you drop by Nordstroms, an old shoe store that’s expanding into men’s wear and see if there is something you like. Ask for Mr. Jackson.”

So, in a day or two I dropped by Nordstroms and asked for Mr. Jackson. Turned out he was Senator Jackson’s brother. I introduced myself, and told him Ms. Burgess had sent me. “Oh yes,” he said, “you’ll find your suit right over there on the rack. I went over to the rack. There was just the one suit tagged. “Hold for Mr. Christensen—modeled by Dennis —Selected by Jeri.”

And, Jeri, I am still wearing your suit. Have a long and happy retirement. You’ve earned it.

L. R. Christensen

Lee proudly shares Wasatch Academy News:


http://www.maxpreps.com/news/s47LEl8tm0yaFrYm_R8F-w/wasatch-academy-thrives-as-boys-basketball-independent-in-utah.htm

Lee's Memories Of This Home

KATHY;   This was my first home in Mt Pleasant.   When my father finished law school in Chicago (1921 -23) and returned to Utah he ,with his wife and 3 children ,lived with his parents ,J W Christensen, in Fairview until he could open his law  practice in Mt Pleasant which he  did in 23 – 24 by buying out an attorney  I think by the name of Cherry.   He then rented this home and moved us  to Mt Pleasant.   We lived here until Fred Larsen  bought the home.  Your story says 1923 but Fred may have rented it to us until summer of “25 when we moved into  the Borg home Ist West.     I remember my first Christmas here when my grandfather gave me a silver dollar. It is not true that I still have it>?  I learned to tie my shoe laces here, played with the Woolsey kids and Emil Lund.  I still carry a sliver picked up on the backyard fence  in my left wrist.   And I still shudder when I think of all the things that could have happened to me when I crawled across the street thru the newly constructed bridge over the little irrigation ditch that crossed the street near the house.  Too this day I blame the Woolsey kids.   lee   

MY DAD

Apple Pickin' Time In Yakima with Bing

Bing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKiQ2BShq5U&authuser=1

I'm just back from 15 days of "round up" time in Yakima.  This year is was
mostly apple round up.  Many, many of them and they were still picking when
I left.  If you are not eating an apple a day you should and if you are you
might consider adding a second or third apple.  A glass of hard apple cider
instead of orange juice for breakfast could brighten your day.
    And for those of you who have not been out in the sagebrush in October
it is blooming then and goes with the round up .  Bing gets it right.    lee

Attachments area

Preview YouTube video Bing Crosby - When The Bloom Is On The Sage (Round Up Time In Texas)

THE SOLDIER

Kathy:  Inspired by Rupert Brooke’s poem “The Soldier” and paraphrasing a line from it I’ve crafted this tribute.

     They never came Home but there is a spot in a Foreign Land that is forever North Sanpete.

Glen Brady

ID: 39835618
Entered the Service From: Utah
Rank: Staff Sergeant

Service: U.S. Army Air Forces, 527th Bomber Squadron, 379th Bomber Group, Heavy

Died: Monday, December 20, 1943
Buried at: Netherlands American Cemetery
Location: Margraten, Netherlands
Plot: M Row: 3 Grave: 6

Awards: Air Medal, Purple Heart

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clyde W. Rigby                              

ID: O-743208
Entered the Service From: Utah
Rank: Second Lieutenant

Service: U.S. Army Air Forces, 577th Bomber Squadron, 392nd Bomber Group, Heavy

Died: Tuesday, January 04, 1944
Memorialized at: Cambridge American Cemetery
Location: Cambridge, England

Awards: Air Medal, Purple Heart

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Russell S. Jensen

ID: 39675224
Entered the Service From: Utah   
Rank: Private

Service: U.S. Army Air Forces, Headquarters Squadron, 5th Air Base Group

Died: Thursday, September 07, 1944
Memorialized at: Manila American Cemetery
Location: Fort Bonifacio, Manila, Philippines

Awards: Purple Heart

From Moroni

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charles Rutishauser

ID: 39835671
Entered the Service From: Utah
Rank: Technical Sergeant

Service: U.S. Army Air Forces, 526th Bomber Squadron, 379th Bomber Group, Heavy

Died: Sunday, June 18, 1944
Buried at: Ardennes American Cemetery
Location: Neupre (Neuville-en-Condroz), Belgium
Plot: D Row: 16 Grave: 4

Awards: Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wallace W. Candland

ID: 39918059
Entered the Service From: Utah
Rank: Corporal

Service: U.S. Army Air Forces, Army Air Corps

Died: Thursday, January 04, 1945
Memorialized at: East Coast Memorial
Location: New York, NY, USA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dee A. Johnson

ID: O-730509
Entered the Service From: Utah
Rank: First Lieutenant

Service: U.S. Army Air Forces, 94th Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Group

Died: Sunday, July 11, 1943
Memorialized at: Sicily-Rome American Cemetery
Location: Nettuno, Italy

Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 6 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart

Wasatch Academy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James K. Sorensen

ID: 03684611
Entered the Service From: Utah
Rank: Ship's Cook, Third Class

Service: U.S. Navy, United States Navy

Died: Friday, December 11, 1942
Memorialized at: Manila American Cemetery
Location: Fort Bonifacio, Manila, Philippines

Awards: Purple Heart

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harold Q. Graham

ID: 39914895
Entered the Service From: Utah
Rank: Private First Class

Service: U.S. Army, 275th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division

Died: Saturday, May 12, 1945
Buried at: Netherlands American Cemetery
Location: Margraten, Netherlands
Plot: K Row: 17 Grave: 3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ferris Ivory

ID: 06604538
Entered the Service From: Utah
Rank: Aviation Radioman, Second Class

Service: U.S. Navy, United States Naval Reserve

Died: Saturday, February 23, 1946
Memorialized at: Honolulu Memorial
Location: Honolulu, HI, USA

Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 4 Gold Stars 

Wasatch Academy

The Soldier

by Rupert Brooke

If I should die, think only this of me:

That there's some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England. There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,

A body of England's, breathing English air,

Washed by the rivers, blessed by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

A PICTURE STORY BY LEE

 A PICTURE STORY

The Time:  1713 (military time)

The Date:  1 August 1944  

Lee R Christensen

KATHY:  I don’t know that this has a place on the Mt Pleasant History site but I thought you might  like to see what an old guy does in his free time .   lee

Trying my computer hand at a picture story.  Needs tightening  but I have problems manipulating a photo with a mouse.  I’ve a call in to Bill Gates for help.   lee

The Headlines   

                           

The Map:

                               

The Place:  Hedgerows, near Percy, Normandy, France

       

The Event:  “About then I heard an incoming shell. I hit the ground face down.  I do not recall the explosion.  I do remember the sharp stabbing in my lower left rib cage. I knew I had been hit.  I was terrified!  I had been hit and remember thinking ”I’ve been hit” but I’m still alive”. 

     Excerpted from “ The Physical and Psychic Wounding of Lt Lee R Christensen”  Can be read  by  Googling the title.   

The Evacuation: 

                       

                       

The Field Hospital:    

   

Field Surgery:

       

The Nurses:  

      

 

And a  Note from the Medical Staff:    

  Most seriously wounded means men shot through the head, lungs, bowels, or large bone of the legs, wounds that in World War I were usually fatal.

    

     Our basic technique is to open up a man's abdomen with an 8-inch incision, go through his intestines and other organs carefully looking for holes made by bullets or shell fragments. Damaged organs and bowel are removed, the holes sewed shut and the incision closed except for a loop of bowel that serves as a temporary outlet. Minor wounds are cleaned of damaged flesh and packed with vaseline gauze. We do chests as well as bellies, sometimes on the same man. We use great quantities of whole blood.  We have sulfa, which we smear liberally everywhere we can, and everybody who lives gets the new drug penicillin every four hours.. 

And I lived to Celebrated this Day 70 Years After>? 

The Music:   Glenn Miller’s “American Patrol”

     

Wasatch Academy Football Wins 9 Games over North Sanpete's 1 ~ 1924-1933 ~

In the ten years 1924 thru 1933 the North Sanpete  Rams beat the Wasatch Tigers just once – 1929.  That year a  team quarterbacked by Eugene (Ganny) Peterson and starring Neil Hafen, end and Vernon Christensen, fullback,  out scored Wasatch  for the first time in coach Brunger’s tenure.  They were not to do  it again for another five years. 

 The Wasatch team was quarterbacked by Johnny Becker though not from Mt Pleasant he did marry a Mt Pleasanter. The Wasatch line was anchored by two local boys, Dee Keusseff and Dick Candland and I would guess sitting on the bench, Glen Williams and Fremont Draper.     

   Both quarterbacks returned to their  high schools as teachers, Ganny to coach and Johnny to teach social studies;   where he made freshmen girls giggle with his risqué stories. 

The football game between the Wasatch Tigers and the North Sanpete Rams, played in early November, was among the five top events of the year in the  Mt Pleasant ‘30s, ranking just behind the Junior Prom and just ahead of the opening of deer hunting.  The climatic event preceding the game was a torch light parade that started on the North Sanpete campus. There nearly 200 students would  each pick up a flaming torch and in unison all march down Main street and on   to the corner of 1^st West and 2^nd South where they would throw their torch onto a flaming bon fire mid street. . Wasatch students would be circled around their fire.   For the next 30 – 40 minutes students from both schools sang, shouted, rang bells, tooted horns and banged drums hoping to make enough noise to carry thru to  next day’s game.      All the games were memorable but the game played 11 November 1938 unforgettable.  There was not even a threat of snow during the torch light festivities but during the night 10 inches of snow fell.   The game was to be played at North Sanpete so they called on the hiway graders to scrape the field.  Coach Brunger sensing Wasatch players had to stay warm bought long johns for the team... .... .... .... (Cleaned out J C Penny’s)

.      Wasatch scored first just before the half with a play that brought smiles to the rooters of both teams.    Wasatch had driven from mid field to the 3 yard line.  From there Dewey Fills, a running back, was given the ball to charge into and thru the line for the score.  Five yards into the end zone he was met head on and tackled by his younger brother, Elmer, North Sanpete’s safety.  The referee whistled loud and long and charged Elmer with a penalty only to be told by Dewey “don’t penalize him Ref, I’ll take care of the kid tonight at home’”.  Final score: Wasatch Academy 19 -   North Sanpete  0,    Fillis Family  tied.