Jane Carter’s Pretty Place Named Yard of the Week

Aluminum siding and expanded wings hide the age of the home at our latest Yard of the Week. The sixty-year-old lawn, neatly mowed and fertile, has outlived towering pine trees and a stream that once ran along the property’s base before feeding into the no-longer-standing grist mill just south of Memorial Park.  This is the original John Done home, built out of adobe-lined sandstone brick in 1896, and the Carter family home since 1952.  It remains under Jane Carter’s nurturing care.

Jane and her husband, the late J.D. Carter, bought the home sixty-two years ago from one of John Done’s sons, after it had remained vacant for a few years, long enough for the weeds to grow to be two feet tall. J.D. burned them soon after they moved in and then planted the lawn that continues to grow there today.

The Carters raised their four children, Susan Carter Hallett, Caralee Carter Steele, the late Allan Carter, and the late Jay Carter, in the home, located a short distance away from Payson’s historic core.  Today, with thirteen grandchildren, thirty-four-great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild, it is a place for much larger gatherings and for memories to continue to be made.  Memories like those that connect Jane to the place she works hard to maintain.

“It’s nothing fancy,” Jane will tell you.

Simply lovely defines it perfectly.  What is more, Jane wakes up between 5-5:30 every morning to work in the yard before the sun turns unbearably hot and is out there again later to work again, after the sun has begun to set.

More still, Jane is eighty-three-years old.

Geraniums--her favorite--and snapdragons breathe color into flower beds accenting the charming home. Golf-ball-wide marigolds in citrus hues blossom beneath friendly ornamental artwork. An exotic tiger lily grows along the home’s northside, itself a piece of art.

Pots for peppers and tomatoes and a small garden spot filled with yellow blossomed zucchini line the south sidewalk leading to a back porch that looks over a steep back yard that is shrouded in acorn trees, shrubs, and the remains of irises that bloomed in spring.

July’s thumping heat has paid its toll on the hostas and other plant life there.  Gone are the blossoms of the fragrant lavender. Water restrictions have encouraged Jane to direct her sprinklers away from grass that grows distantly from her home.   But she persists under the pressure of heat and drought, and has sustained its beauty throughout these conditions.

“I do the best I can,” she said.

She does a very good job at that.

Ed and Lyne Peterson's Place a Welcoming Sight; Named Yard of the Week

Yard of the Week Winner a “Welcoming” Sight

A simple, yet significant word, spells out across yard ornamentation at the home of Ed and Lyne Peterson.  “Welcome” is written as well as implied here, given the pleasing surroundings at their place in Payson, and one is immediately struck with the impression they are among friends when in this neighborhood.  It is this feeling of warmth, of being welcome, which has resulted in the Petersons having been selected for the honor of Yard of the Week.

The welcoming spot is the place the Petersons, both retirees from long careers with Nebo School District, have called home for thirty-eight years.  They raised their three daughters, Cortney (Hall), Rachelle (Hatfield), and Janae here, and enjoyed the pitter-pattering of feet from their grandchildren, who seem now to have grown up too fast.

Decoratively arranged plants and flowers, both inside and out, are evidence of their children’s adoration for their parents.  Among them are some of the gorgeous geraniums that are flourishing right now from pots propped in front of the home.

Other plantlife gifts they have received bear older fruit. These arrived onto the yard compliments of Lyne’s grandfather, the late Guy Bird of Springville, the man from whom she attributes her green thumb.

Grandpa Bird had cultivated a garden, fruit trees, and flowers that were renowned in his day.  “He was really good at grafting,” said Lyne, noting one of his more phenomenal of projects as resulting in a tree that grew bushels of apples on one side and pears on the other.  His gladiolus and peonies, too, were noteworthy and a welcoming sight to folks who sought them annually.

To Lyne and Ed, his plants were given.  A single rose bush has survived harsh seasons throughout the years since Lyn’s he gave it to the Petersons to plant in their Payson yard.  One single rose blooms each June, said Lyne, as if it is her grandpa, stopping by to say hello.

From the trees that flourished in his care came several apricot trees, though their lifespan came to an end at the Peterson home earlier this year.  Still holding strong, though, are two maple trees, one in their backyard and the other, out front.

Swaying in a swing beneath their frontyard maple tree, the Petersons oversee the fruit of their labor, work they refer to as therapy.  From here they can see the neatly trimmed lawn that Ed looks forward to mowing and the flower beds brimming with blooms and greenery under the care of Lyne.  They can reflect on memories built into a pleasant landscape, one which evokes a sense of belonging in them and all who come their way.

Our Pioneer Story

The old log cabin that, today, sits on the Payson City Center grounds, locted at 439 West Utah Avenue, Payson, Utah.

As cities to the north entice folks to Pioneer Day celebrations this week, The Payson Chronicle would like to pause and revere the local community’s pioneer heritage.

“Mormon pioneers, who colonized the area in October, 1850, said they found sage and sunflowers as far as the eye could see,” wrote Payson historian, the late Madoline C. Dixon in her book, ‘Peteetneet Town -- A History of Payson, Utah.’ “They would have found willow trees, boxelders and cottonwoods growing wherever there was water to sustain them. This water was a vital factor in selection of the site for a settlement.”

Payson was incorporated as a city on January 21, 1853, according to Ms. Dixon, by the Territorial Legislature of Utah. “The settlement then included Spring Lake Villa to the south and Summit (Santaquin) to the southwest.” The city’s original boundaries were scaled down thirty years later.

SESD Contributes to Scholarship Established in Memory of PFC Cody Towse

Dreams Realized Through Scholarship Established in Memory of PFC Cody Towse

CAPTION: SESD (South Utah Valley Electric Service District) presented funds they raised to Jim and Jamie Towse last week.  The Towses have established a scholarship to honor their son, PFC Cody Towse, who was killed in action while serving in the U.S. Military in Afghanistan in 2013.  Pictured (left-right): SESD Board of Trustees Chairman Blair Hamilton, SESD Board Member Nelson Abbott, Jamie and Jim Towse, with a portrait of the couple’s son, PFC Cody Towse, a graduate of Salem Hills High School. Find the complete story in the July 23, 2014, edition of The Payson Chronicle.

Luke Peters

REVERING COMMUNITY'S HERITAGE AS UTAH OBSERVES PIONEER DAY

The old log cabin that, today, sits on the Payson City Center grounds, locted at 439 West Utah Avenue, Payson, Utah.  Photo  by Denise Windley

As cities to the north entice folks to Pioneer Day celebrations this week, The Payson Chronicle would like to pause and revere the local community’s pioneer heritage.

“Mormon pioneers, who colonized the area in October, 1850, said they found sage and sunflowers as far as the eye could see,” wrote Payson historian, the late Madoline C. Dixon in her book, ‘Peteetneet Town -- A History of Payson, Utah.’ “They would have found willow trees, boxelders and cottonwoods growing wherever there was water to sustain them. This water was a vital factor in selection of the site for a settlement.”

Payson was incorporated as a city on January 21, 1853, according to Ms. Dixon, by the Territorial Legislature of Utah. “The settlement then included Spring Lake Villa to the south and Summit (Santaquin) to the southwest.” The city’s original boundaries were scaled down thirty years later.

Memorial Park a Cool Spot for the Payson Scottish Festival

The heat was little deterrent for visitors attending the 2014 Payson Scottish Festival, held Saturday at Memorial Park.  With temperatures hovering in the high nineties, some cooled off near the cool water of the pond on the park's northwest corner, while others found relief with one or more of the handcrafted sodas sold by vendors throughout the afternoon.

See this and other photos taken during the event in the July 16, 2014, edition of The Payson Chronicle.  Subscribe today at paysonads.com.

Quick Peek Behind the Scenes at Our Upcoming Yard of the Week

A playhouse with a landscape worthy of honor is part of the splendor at our current Yard of the Week.  

Dave and Linda Carter Awarded Yard of the Week

Oftentimes when it comes to a yard’s splendor, the back is where it’s at.  As is this is case with our current Yard of the Week, the home and handiwork of Dave and Linda Carter and family.

The Carter home sits a one-block-walk away from the Payson Aquatic Center. The nearby community pool serves as a summer coolspot for Dave and Linda’s grandchildren. As does the couple’s backyard.

Though the front yard is quite lovely, what hides behind is an impressive scene.  A cozy playhouse awaits the youthful play of the Carters’ grandchildren. Built by the Carters’ three sons, Matt, Jake, and Clay Ludlow, this tiny home comes with a landscape of its own that would qualify it for a yard of the week award, albeit on a smaller scale.

Parakeets tweet from a roomy coop to its north. It was built by the Carters’ youngest son, Clay, and is suitable for year-round use.

The birds’ sweet voices add to the outdoor aesthetics in sound.  They are the choir that sings to the trickling music humming from several fountains framed in flowers, rock, and eclectic art.

One such fountain, on the yard’s northeast side, gathers water into a pond layered with lily pads to shelter a family of goldfish that call it home.

The scene can be seen and fully admired from a seat on the charming patio, located a step away from the couple’s back door.  Potted flowers dot this gathering spot, enticing senses with scent and color.  “The brighter the better,” says Linda, stating a quality she looks for in blooms.

This quality is especially apparent in the front yard, where a Dexter twin washtub, passed down to Linda by her grandmother, has been converted into a spacious planter, lavished with dark and vibrant purple petunias, scarlet geraniums, and attractive greenery.  The display is the work of florists at Olson’s Garden Shoppe. Linda has relied on their expertise to fill the tubs with blooms for the past five years, and much to the Carters’ delight.

More flowers sprout from smaller pots and beds and frame the frontside for the enjoyment of those passing through their quiet Payson neighborhood.  A large spinning copper sculpture, given to Linda by the couple’s only daughter, Shannon, bolts from one such bed, casting hints of the treasures that hide out back.

Bill and Margaret Wright Home Awarded Yard of the Week

The Bill and Margaret Wright home in Payson has been named Yard of the Week. 

Yard of the Week: Bill and Margaret Home in Payson

Take a drive past our latest Yard of the Week and expect to be pleased by the beauty in sight.  What you may miss, however, is just how spectacular the property truly is up close, with its hidden fountain and secret fairy garden for youngsters’ make believe worlds.  

This would be the home of Bill and Margaret Wright, in Payson, a couple whose handiwork in their yard since 1996 is worthy of applause.

A ceaseless job, Bill and Margaret work on their yard as a team. The main maintenance details are divided as such: Margaret does the weeding and Bill does the watering.  Judging by the pristine condition found in their multiple flower garden spots, vegetable garden out back--one filled with the key ingredients for homemade salsa, and the good health that is exhibited in plants growing therein, it is clear their teamwork effort is a success.

Margaret is the architect of the fairy garden that is tucked beneath an umbrella tree near the couple’s front porch.  It has been adorned with sweet fairies, butterflies, colorful glass balls, a windmill, geraniums, and greenery.  Stepping stones are set to guide the tiny feet of their six grandchildren to a bench secure inside.

Their hard work and fruitful results make relaxing in the yard all the more enticing for the Wright family. Bill’s favorite spot there is the couple’s patio in the backyard, which is made all the more serene with a rock garden dressed up with flower boxes and planters, jolly gnomes, shady trees, and a restful running water fountain.  The roses in bloom along the sidewalk patch in the frontyard are among Margaret’s favorites.

All of the flowers planted there--from the clematis and impatiens to the vinca and zinnias--have been purchased locally at Olson’s Garden Shoppe in Payson.

For their nurturing nature and continuous care for their property in Payson, we congratulate Bill and Margaret Wright for receiving the honor of Yard of the Week!

Payson Police Report: June 2-7, 2014

Payson Police Report

June 2

Police did extra patrol at Beer Can Flat, as well as in the Taylor subdivision, at the hospital, Mt. View Apartments, and a local trailer park.

At 2 AM, an officer made contact with a male who was seen walking near the bowling alley. The man spoke little English, according to the report. Officer determined he was not going to cause any problems and let him go.

Identity fraud handled. A female reported that an unknown person had used her Social Security number and/or taxpayer identification number to file taxes for 2013.

Officer was dispatched to do a welfare check, which resulted in a male being transported and admitted to Utah Valley Hospital, as per Wasatch Mental Health.

Theft from a locker at the pool was reported. A cell phone and cash were taken. The phone was returned, but not the money.

Police were dispatched to McDonalds on a report of a suspicious detail. A male was seen walking down the street in a bright orange jumpsuit and aroused the suspicion of the caller, who thought he might be an escaped jail inmate. He was not and he was okay.

Police dealt with an intoxicated male who was acting belligerently, yelling profanities and threatening to “kick the [expletive]” out of his kids. He had been in the Smith’s grocery store and was asked to leave and not come back. His wife and children were with him.

Suspicious situation was handled. Officer spotted a male standing by a car. Known as “The Huffer,” he was suspected as having plans to huff the fumes from the vehicle’s gas tank. He was told to go home.

An intoxicated female had reported to police that she was afraid to go outside, in that she had been robbed. Property was located.

Dispatched to a lost wallet report. The reporting person stated he was not sure as to whether he had lost his wallet while cleaning out his car or if someone had taken it.

Officer located the father of a juvenile who had accidentally broken a window at Taylor School. The father and employee at the school agreed to work out fixing the window, in lieu of charges being filed.

During the week, police investigated several traffic accidents. Most of them were non-reportable.

Police checked on alarm and hang-up calls. None needed police action.

June 3

Police were called to the swimming pool on a report of a sex offense.

Dispatched to Walmart on a delayed theft report. A car was seen pulling into the parking lot. A male and a female were reportedly seen exiting a vehicle and then entering the store. The male was seen taking DVDs out of their packaging and leaving the store without paying for them. The female was seen taking two flower arrangements from an outdoor display in front of the store. They then got into their vehicle and drove away, and were not located.

Lost property reported: A wallet.

Officer took a report of a stolen child’s scooter.

Police were dispatched to a report of a suspicious male inside of the reporting person’s detached garage. Officers arrested him for trespassing, abuse of a psychotoxic chemical, and disorderly conduct. He was transported and booked into the Utah County Jail.

An officer was dispatched to a male walking around the LDS churches, getting into the flower beds. Officers responded to the area, but could not find anyone.

Family problem handled. No violence involved.

Officer was dispatched on a theft detail. Suspect, known, had fled the area and police were unable to locate the person. Suspect will be long-formed on a theft charge.

Juvenile problem. A male juvenile was upset with his mother, was yelling, and apparently out of control. However, when he saw the police he calmed down and behaved.

June 4

Dispatched to a stolen vehicle. Keys were left in the vehicle, along with two firearms. Officer needs more information on the firearms. Vehicle listed with NCIC.

Child abuse reported. No further information.

Police were dispatched to a report of a missing juvenile. The boy was found a short time later at his friend's’ house and returned home safely.

Officer was dispatched to 636 South 680 East on juveniles riding a 4-wheeler and motorcycle up and down the street. Officer responded to the area but was unable to locate them.

Police were dispatched to 2415 West Salem Canal Road on a report of a found two-year-old boy.

Utah County Sheriffs had responded; the child’s grandmother came for the little boy.

Vehicle burglary at 211 South 600 West. Multiple items were taken from the unlocked vehicle. Case was referred to investigations.

Vehicle burglary: Unknown person(s) entered an unlocked vehicle and took loose change totaling less than $5. Case was referred to investigations. This occurred in the area of 211 South 650 West.

Vehicle burglary at 1045 South 1700 West. A Garmin GPS was stolen from another vehicle. Burglary at 428 South 1000 West was referred to investigations.

June 5

A citizen reported that a red bicycle had been found in her yard about five days prior.  It had been left leaning against some bushes there. The bike was taken to the police office.

Theft was referred to investigations. No further information available.

Officer picked up a trap containing a large raccoon.

During the week, police herded five horses into a corral.

June 6-7

Theft detail: Officer discovered 250 feet of copper welding lead had been stolen. The case was referred to investigations.

Suspicious detail handled. Male received a request for money. He believed it to be a scam. Call was found to be a definite scam.

Police were dispatched to the area of 695 East 450 North regarding people lighting off fireworks and being noisy.

Loud music reported. Police talked with those responsible and they promised to turn it down.

Police were dispatched to two juvenile boys going through lockers at the pool, possibly stealing items. Juveniles were found to have not been stealing items and were released.

Responding to Walmart on a sex offense report resulted in a male being cited for lewdness.

Case of a family problem was referred to investigations for a follow up.

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