Magna Fourth of July Parade 2012

     Magna parades stand out in the fun, generational memories of Magna residents. These are special times when neighbors and friends compete for shade and greet each other with smiles and enthusiastic hand shakes. It's hard to tell who's liberal or conservative or what religious creed they might hold to. You might see a Mormon helping support the Spaghetti dinner hosted by Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church or a baptist throwing in a few bucks to help local needy families. We all hold something in common, a love for our community and historical heritage.
     A fictional Magna Forth of July parade (as it might have been in 1984) will appear in part III of my new serial novel, In Older Worlds. Magna itself, the physical setting not the people, will act as a setting for a strange, dark fantasy/horror. It's written in a way that a person who grew up in Magna at that time would recognize and understand. For those who have never seen Magna, it will be like an introduction to a great, personal friend.
     I'd like to send out a special thank you to Todd and Carolyn Richards for your dedication and service to Magna and the Fourth of July committee--they even stored the Miss Magna float in their yard when no one else would take it! 
     As for these photos, taken today, with love, enjoy them! And God Bless.
     Robert Goble

Magna Fourth of July parade possibly late 1940s to early 1950s. Notice the Empress Theater in the background. Photographer unknown.

Magna Fourth of July parade 2012. Magna Mountain Riders. Notice the same Empress Theater as in the above photo.

Town Councilman Todd Richards walks the parade route along 8560 West near Brockbank Junior High minutes before the parade starts.

Kylie Lanktree, Miss Magna 2012, stands with Little Miss, Elle Crossly in front of Magna Elementary on 3100 South minutes before the parade starts. Ken's Sandwich Shoppe, though not in the photo, is just to the west.

Miss Magna royalty First Attendant Marky Johnson with her Little Miss, Taila Robinson in front of new Magna library on Main Street.

 Miss Magna royalty Second Attendant Jill Cardenas with her Little Miss, Jensen Brian in front of the new Magna library on Main Street.

Miss Magna director Ryan Egbert along parade route on 8560 West near Brockbank Jr. High. His wife, Bonnie Egbert, formerly Bonnie Goble (Miss Magna 1994), is also director.

Folks gather along the parade route in front of Brockbank Jr. High.

Lake Ridge Elementary students carry the flag past 3010 South. Looking west toward Cyprus High School. The Cyprus C rises proudly on Thead's Peak in the background. 

Jazz band, Happy Valley Strutters, plays an upbeat tune dedicated in memory of Norm Fitzgerald, a well loved Town Councilman who had recently passed.

Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon along 8560 West.

The crowd fills the street at the corner of 2700 South and 8560 West as the parade approaches. Photo looking east. Notice the Grub Box sign in the background. The Grub Box will appear in my new novel, In Older Worlds.

Rod and Joline Walgamott, best known for their tireless work on the board of the Oquirrh Hills Performing Arts Alliance, and as Atlas holds the world on his back, so Rod and Joline hold the Empress Theater.

Daughter and mother, Alyx Pattison and Arlene Pattison. Alyx, a former student of Cyprus High School and member of the dance company under the auspices of Lori Rupp, is now a partner of the Chicago law firm, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP . Arlene, a former resident of Garfield and long-time resident of Magna, is appreciated for her service with the Community Council.

John Alfred recently returned from serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Albuquerque, NM. He shows his prowess as a horseman. For the record, the horse is steadily moving along Main Street. He isn't standing still.

Brian and Tamara Cruz and family. Brian can boast a heritage to the earliest settlers of the Magna area (Pleasant Green and Coonville) through the Sadlers and Hardmans, to Abraham Coon, an early pioneer. Coon's Canyon in the Oquirrh Mountains is named after him. Lehi Nephi Hardman was the first LDS Bishop of the Pleasant Green Precinct. He had chartered the Pleasant Green Cemetery (Cemetery Hill) in 1882.

Parade-watchers braving the sun with smiles. Main Street looking west. Oquirrh Mountains in the background.

Jim and Shellie Bezzant on the shady 8500 West near the Peel Funeral Home and just North of Brockbank Jr. High. Jim Remembers Fourth of July parades all the way back to the sixties and seventies. His father is Dick Bezzant who has served the community for many years, including sitting on the Magna Water Board.

Main Street looking west. Notice the kennecott power plant that has stood on the hill since the 1940s.

Cyprus High School Football.

Only Cyprus High School cheerleaders get a military escort.

Cyprus High School student body officers. My daughter, Tara Goble can barely be seen with her arm raised in the boat.

The Cyprus High School Spinnakers near the new library on Main Street. 

Parade route farther west near the old Dyches Rexall Drug Store.

John and Jackie Sudbury serve as announcers near Magna Oil Changes Etc. The whole Sudbury family is well known and loved in Magna. John is a face any sports fanatic in Utah should know, but by far he is known and loved by so many youth he has coached and supported in football and other sports.

Brandt Goble is well known and loved in Magna. He has run for office and served with unions. He's currently the president of  West United Soccer, helping coach and train kids in an international sport. His family's influence is also historical and influential in the area sharing heritage to Lehi Nephi Hardman and Abraham Coon. 

Michael Jensen has a long resume of service to Magna and Salt Lake County, including Salt Lake Council Councilman for District 2 and Chief of the Unified Fire Authority. 

What's a parade without Chinese dragons?

Daniel Thatcher, State Senator District 12, keeps Magna close to his heart. This active young senator chairs two committees and is an active influence in ten others. He frequently keeps his ear close to the voters by attending local meetings and staying in touch with many residents. You can often speak to him face to face at West Side Matters meetings.

State Representative District 22, Sue Duckworth is well-loved among the Magna residents. The Duckworth family is known for many years of service to the community and state. Her husband Carl also served as representative. 

The Rice family smiles in the sun. Laurie Rice has served in the PTA at Orchard Elementary.

Donnie Sweazey rumbles past in his catchy purple hot-rod. He's best known for his business, Oil Changes Etc.

Parade watchers sit in the shadow of the old Gem Theater. Many long-time residents have fond memories of the old-fashioned seating, stage under the screen, red curtains, and pickle jar that sat on the glass counter. The last movie I saw there was Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Gem will appear in my new novel, In Older Worlds, as it was still showing movies in 1984. Remember the family movie nights on Mondays?

Another shot of Main Street looking east. The Ethnic and Mining museum is nearby.

Once again, a special thanks to Todd and Carolyn Richards and the Fourth of July committee for a wonderful and successful parade!

Great Britain Comes to Stage at the Empress with Oliver!

The Empress on a hot July afternoon on Magna's Main Street before a showing of Oliver!

      Theater guests familiar with one another greet each other with smiles, waves, and handshakes. It's a true community theater, and the intimate "family feeling" spreads to newcomers and out-of-towners eager to enjoy the classic British musical and generational Broadway smash by writer and composer Lionel Bart, Oliver! The lights dim, erasing the empty stage, and the music begins. 

     But just before, downstairs, under the stage, the scene was of actors and actresses, most young, a few old, for many their first play, dressing, singing, and preparing to give their all to delight the audience and carry them the Dickensian world of London in the 1850s. 

     "I see London as a dirty, gritty place," said Lila Cripps (ensemble and 'bit parts')...the people at that time were either very rich or very poor or working very hard. It would be a very difficult time to have to live that way, and I think it makes people nowadays open their eyes."

     First-time Director, Becky Walk, hovered near as the actors gathered in the theater before the guests' arrival. Having done musical theater in college, she fell in love with the "cute little community theater" where the "people are awesome." When Becky had heard the Empress needed a director for Oliver! her sister and the play's choreographer talked her into joining. She took her role seriously, researching the "old town London," the costumes and the music and much more. Already familiar with the play, having been a fan since she was a kid, directing the show was a "neat" experience that took a lot of dedication, especially keeping the large cast of kids on task, "but they've really done a good job."

     The actors made a circle on the stage floor and took each other by the hand, linking the wide circle, a bonding moment.

      Though many of the actors and actresses were regulars at the theater, Michael Johnson (Bill Sykes), a student of the Actor Training Program in the Department of Theatre at the University of Utah, had "never seen a show or been in a show" before at the empress. "I walked into this theater," Michael said, "and absolutely fell in love with it. I love the space, like just the way it’s set up. And downstairs...the dressing rooms...everything it’s just perfect. It’s a great atmosphere I love the people who work here. Its been awesome" 

     Actress Valerie Packer (Nancy), also her first time at the Empress said, "It's so fun. Its such an intimate setting. The audience can see your facial expressions, and I think (they) get a better feel for your character." She had dreamed of playing the role of Nancy since her mother had played the same role "when she was my age." 

     Next door the sound of power tools drifted into the street. By then the play had run to intermission and the sun cut its last rays over the golden peaks of the Oquirrh Mountains. As guests filled the foyer and bought goodies, the kind of goodies that made the musical even better, Bennie Nugter worked in the "Toy Shop" building a new wooden ladder for the theater. For Bennie the Empress was a family endeavor. His wife, Marie, was backstage working on props, while their son and daughter, both actors, prepared for the second act.

     Bennie, not a resident of Magna, spoke proudly of his family's dedication to the theater. His daughter, Sasha (Charlotte) "was in every show last year one way or another. She auditioned for all the shows that she could audition for. Some she got in and some she didn’t, and the ones that she didn’t get in, like Forever Plaid was all guys, she actually did lights. Ever since she was a little kid she’s been a little theater bug and she doesn’t mind getting up in front of people and going into character."

     Behind him on the wall were drawings of scenery, one of a hob fireplace and a brick hearth with a "secret compartment," a fireplace he'd dedicated many hours of work to, the same fireplace Brett Hanson (Fagin) hunched over with suspicious eyes glancing about for witnesses as he sang, "Reviewing the Situation."

     In the afterglow of a musical well done, as the audience slowly moved into the foyer and out into hot summer night and and the shining streetlights to meet the actors (an enjoyable tradition that hopefully will last for many years to come), Leora Thomas of Salt Lake City walked to her car. "I'm really hooked on this theater, and it brings a lot of memories back to me. My husband was from Garfield. We come out quite often to see the plays here and we enjoy every one of them, which is fantastic!"

     Oliver! runs through July 21, 2012. Visit the Empress Theater website for more information on the coming Beauty and the Beast, Jr.; Hello, Dolly; and The Christmas Box and many more.

http://www.empresstheatre.com/

Suds, Spray, and Sandals

 The 2012 Miss Magna Scholarship Pageant Fundraiser

We're Taking good girls and turning them into outstanding Women --Ryan Egbert, Pageant Director 
     

      Sunlight flashes off cars passing by, cars that might look a little dusty after nearly a month of no rain, cars that could use a wash. Air rises from baking parking lot asphalt. Water splashes from a hose. Buckets are filled. Sandaled feet shift as markers glide over poster board. "That's cute!" someone says, as ink dries nearly instantly in the warm breeze.
     Across the street, Magna's Main Street, a faded Lion's Club sign hangs from an old metal light post. To the west, the whitewashed Cyprus C shines proudly from Thead’s Peak. To the east, the ever-changing scene of business bustles near the Veteran's memorial, the distant Wasatch mountains as a backdrop. A lone seagull flies toward the Kennecott tailings dike, and, as a young woman steps out onto the sidewalk with her poster to spiritedly advertise the fundraiser car wash, Five Dollars! the first customer turns into the parking lot of ABS Body & Paint and leaves a twenty.

     "It makes me feel good (to help)," says Sam Salisbury, owner ABS Body & Paint. "These girls are sure working hard. They deserve every ounce of credit. I think they’re doing a real good job. Magna's kind of an economically strapped community, so anything we can do to help them out. They need our support."

In the bay behind Sam Salisbury (unseen in the photo) sits a work of art in progress, a '67 Camero Rally Sport, its body sand blasted and gray with epoxy primer, undergoing a "full restoration. Sam has been in business on Magna Main Street for over twelve years.

     No other event (except the Independence Day parade) has been as enduring in this community as the Miss Magna Scholarship Pageant. It's an historic event with generational roots and representation.On June 30, 2012, Magna will once again celebrate our outstanding young women in a scholarship pageant held in the Cyprus High School auditorium at 7:00 PM. Tickets will be $5.00 at the door. To help support the pageant and keep this wonderful tradition alive, please visit the following website and hit the "donate" button. Every little bit helps.

http://www.missmagnapageant.org/

     Across the valley, at the same time as the fundraiser, Alexandria Burt, the reigning Miss Magna 2011 prepared to compete in the final night of the Miss Utah competition.

Photo by Erica New

   As an update: Magna is proud of Alexandria's strong and stellar performance at the Miss Utah pageant. She is a graduate of Cyprus High and lettered as a Spinnaker through her sophomore to senior years. She is currently a Freshman at the University of Utah, studying Strategic Communications and performing with their dance team. She has done an outstanding job representing this community.

 Car Wash Fundraiser

     All suds, spray, sandals, tank tops, shorts, and sunglasses, the outstanding contestants of the Miss Magna 2012 Scholarship Pageant put on the sunscreen and went to work.
     Introducing the ladies who will compete to represent Magna 2012:

Kylie Lanktree

     Being a part of the pageant has "changed" Kylie to be a "better person. Though a motivation for becoming a contestant was the scholarship, she said, "It's really more than just the money...It's getting me ready for life."

Kelsey Hodges

     Kelsey wants to "make a difference in the world." She loves to help people and is concerned about hunger in Utah. The pageant has helped her grow. "I’m not so shy anymore. I’ve made some new friends. I’ve gotten out there and met new people, and got my face out there (to) let people know that beauty pageants aren’t just a pretty face and anybody can be a title holder."

Kyrsti Orvin

       Kyrsti views the pageant as "life-changing fun." She credits the persuasion of her friends and Cyprus High School music director, Kerry Moore for helping her gain the confidence to join. "I can do things I thought I couldn’t. It’s helped me discover my talent a little bit more...It will help me help other people."

Brenda Rodriguez

     For Brenda the pageant is, "having fun with my friends and enjoying the moment right now." She likes to "get into the history of Magna." She's concerned with "abuse against women." The pageant has taught her "to feel like I could do anything. Like no one could put me down.I think it’s gonna help me by the lessons it taught me...like right now, work as a team. Everything’s a team. There’s no I in team. Like in work, if there’s an I in team, then you’re not going to get along with your co-workers or your bosses."

Brittany Kinder

    Brittany, a former contestant for the Miss Magna 2011 pageant, has returned to share her passion. Last year it was "kids with cancer." This year it's "drug abuse...because I lost a friend recently." She feels the pageant is "definitely going to help me get, maybe, scholarships, help me with college as well. And also it will help me be more open to charity."

Marie Lucero

 

     Marie has also returned to run again this year. "Every year that I’ve done it, it’s made me keep on going, and making me believe that I can do something that I never thought I could do."

     She wanted to do it "because a lot of people would always say a lot of girls can’t do this because you have to be pretty, and you have to be perfect, and I just wanted to prove to everybody that I could do something like this, and let little girls look up to me and know that they can do this, and it’s possible for anybody to do it, shape, size, anything."  She wants to "give hope to all the breast cancer survivors."
     The pageant has changed her to "become a better person and be able to look at others and care for them more than I care about myself." 

     "I’m a part of something big...that everybody will remember and look back and be like, 'oh this person did this,' and that it makes me feel great."

Mary "Marky" Johnson

     For Mary, it's made her realize "what I can do for myself, like how I raised the hundred dollars, and how I’m learning a talent, cus I’m gonna dance for my talent, and I normally would never dance...When I get down to it, I practice and I practice, and I get better. It makes me have more confidence in myself."

     The pageant has made her feel more involved in the community and achieve her goals. She feels it will help her with communication, like job interviews. It has strengthened her confidence.

     She is concerned about "funds for the arts in school." She's doing it "because there’s people in school that don’t always necessarily fit in in the athletics and anything else like that. And when they don’t have anything to do, then there’s nothing to motivate them to stay involved."

Cancace Finau

     Candace feels the pageant is going to help her be more open with people. She credits it for helping her have the confidence to gain her recent employment at Target and meeting new friends. It has helped her grow and "realize that there’s more to this world that people don’t see, and I feel like I can help make it a better place."

     To Candace, the pageant improves women, "makes us more responsible and helps us build up our standards. It will make me more confident with everything I do."

Brianna Ekker

     Brianna joined the pageant to gain more confidence in herself, "a good way to get out of my shell." She's excited to participate in "things that many great women have done." She's gained more confidence and credits the pageant for helping her "learn who I really am."
     She's concerned about "raising awareness against the signs of depression and suicide in young kids and teens."

Contestants not present at fundraiser:

Jill Cardenas

Harlie Permain

Brittney De St. Jeor

Co-director Ryan Egbert

Co-director Ryan Egbert with the contestants. Bonnie Goble Egbert, Miss Magna '94, is not present in the photo. Bottom left is eleven-year-old volunteer and Ryan's niece, Noelle Goble.

     Ryan Egbert "got involved" with the pageant because his wife, co-director, Bonnie Egbert, is Miss Magna 1994, formerly Bonnie Goble. "It really made a huge difference in her life."

     "There’s so much more to a beauty pageant," he says, "than what people think. It’s truly a scholarship pageant. We’re trying to take good girls and turn them into outstanding women. They have to learn amazing things. They have to learn how to do public speaking. They have to be a leader. They have to learn how to market. They have to market the Miss Magna pageant, to market themselves.They have to have a talent that they can share. For a lot of them that’s been a tough one to develop and work on. And then they have to learn how to hold themselves, how to walk, poise, etiquette. In the end it makes a huge difference. That’s why my wife and I are willing to sacrifice our time our energy our money and try and get this done here in Magna for these girls, just make a difference."

Dedication

      Many great people have dedicated time, talents, energy, personal funds, and much more to keep this important event alive and burning in the hearts of the community, especially in recent years. So many individuals deserve a special "thank you," including former Miss Magna royalty and contestants who hold the pageant dear and continue to serve and volunteer (and this is not excluding the many unsung heroes), Millie Ellett, Stacie Kingdon Woolston, Natalee Johnston Stewart, Donnie Sweazey, Starr Campbell, Dottie Alo, and Kathys Flower Shop, all deserving more than just a quick mention on a list.
     One "unsung hero," in particular, will be remembered with gratitude to the support he gave, especially during the tough times and ups and downs in recent years. This good man understood the importance the pageant holds to this great township, a man Magna will always hold in dear memory for all his service: Norm Fitzgerald.

Robert Goble, "Magna's writer," is the author of two novels, A Winter Morning's Sun and the award-winning Across A Harvested Field. His latest novel due to appear sometime in 2012 will be a dark, fantasy-horror titled In Older Worlds.