In the headlines at about the same time recently were the naming of Ezra Taft Benson as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and President Reagan’s appeal for prayers for success at the upcoming summit meetings with Soviet leader Gorbachev. Somehow the two stories combined to remind me of an extraordinary spiritual happening… Continue reading Recalling Sermon to Soviets
Category: History
Forty Years Ago Our Friends Were Our Foes
The newspaper dated May 8, 1945, is yellowed and torn, held together in places by scotch tape. The banner headline jumps out at you in 2 1/2-inch letters: V-E DAY PROCLAIMED. On either side of the name plate – The Daily Herald (Provo, Utah) – is the word, “Extra,” in smaller but very bold type.… Continue reading Forty Years Ago Our Friends Were Our Foes
Provo Noting 136th Birthday
How did April 3 come to be designated as Provo’s birthday? That’s a logical question as the city commemorates its 136th anniversary. In a nutshell, the first colony of Mormon settlers sent to Utah Valley by Brigham Young reached Provo River April 1, 1949. After a day of exploring, they started to built Fort Utah… Continue reading Provo Noting 136th Birthday
More Than 500 Have Served on Provo City Boards
“The first requisite of a good citizen,” said Theodore Roosevelt, “is that he be able and willing to pull his weight.” This article is about more than 500 Provo citizens who have gone far beyond that “first requisite.” They are present and past members of Provo City “Citizen Boards” whose talents energies and leadership have… Continue reading More Than 500 Have Served on Provo City Boards
Anniversaries Noted This Month
We have a lot of “special days” in the good old U.S.A. Besides the legal and patriotic holidays there’s a miscellany of anniversaries and occasions such as Groundhog Day, Inventors Day and Pickle Day. We even have an Underdog Day to salute the nation’s underdogs and unsung heroes. The degree of significance of any observance… Continue reading Anniversaries Noted This Month
Dec. 7, 1941, A Day of Infamy
It was a day never to be forgotten – in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s somber words, “a date which will live in infamy.” Japan had taken the United States by surprise, tragically bombing Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941, while negotiations were going on in Washington. More than 350 planes had zeroed in on the harbor… Continue reading Dec. 7, 1941, A Day of Infamy
Thieves Steal Museum Items
Millions of dollars worth of artifacts and art, objects are stolen from museums each year in the United States – and the public is the big loser. When a valuable item vanishes, a piece of history is gone. This is in addition to its intrinsic value. Exact values are hard to establish but in 1978… Continue reading Thieves Steal Museum Items
14 Presidents Who Won Two Terms
“The person of the President – anyPresident – is touched with magic. The office illuminates the man. And as we meet the country’s leader, in person or by reading a good biography, we shake hands with history.” – Melville Bell Grosvenor. This column is about the 13 Presidents who were sufficiently “illuminated” by the office… Continue reading 14 Presidents Who Won Two Terms
Origin of Sweet, Sad Taps Sound
The sweet but sad bugle call known as Taps employs only four separate notes and there are only 24 notes in the entire composition – but its plaintive strains continue to tug at heartstrings after 122 years. Taps is sounded at patriotic Veterans and Memorial Day services and at flag-lowering and “lights out” ceremonies in… Continue reading Origin of Sweet, Sad Taps Sound
Honoring Their Sacrifice. Stones Present a History
By N. LA VERL CHRISTENSEN Until the storied “11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” in 1918, the battle lines in France shook with the roar of cannons. But at that hour the guns ceased firing. A general armistice between the Allies and Germany went into effect. Terms of the peace had… Continue reading Honoring Their Sacrifice. Stones Present a History