In this week’s edition of The Payson Chronicle

 

PAYSON PEOPLE

Seagull Service Station was described as the "most handsome and complete gas service station" in Payson's business district in its day. "When you need gas drive up and let us fill your tank," a narrative ad for the business read — it was published in The Payson Chronicle in March 1929.  A prominent figure in the community, Paul J. Davis owned and managed the station, which serviced every running part of an automobile: oil, grease, battery, and washing. Tires, too. Seagull Service Station was "a model of beauty and a credit to the town and business has been keeping pace with the rapid growth of the community." Davis ran the adjoining advertisement for Miller Tires in The Payson Chronicle in May 1930. 

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Paysonian Advertising: Whistle Bottling Co. (1921)

 

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Fossil Shack

Local Business Spotlight:  Fossil Shack

By Paul Johnson

PICTURED: Owner Seth Sorensen with a dino head and artifacts from "the Shack".

"I'm just a kid who never grew up," owner Seth Sorensen told me when I asked how he ended up in the fossil business. Located at 25 South 100 West, Payson, "the Shack" occupies the northwest corner of the same block as Total Fitness and the Payson Library. It combines a retail outlet with a workshop where Seth and his assistants do the professional work of cleaning, restoring, preparing, and framing fossils, large-scale dinosaurs and ice-age mammals included. Besides fossils, the shop sells a wide assortment of geodes and polished rocks.

It has the great timing of joining Payson's economic scene right after every rockhound's erstwhile favorite outlet, White Feather Rocks, just closed their Santaquin location.

When asked for his business's main takeaway, Seth quipped that it doesn't matter "whether you're some Hollywood A-lister making millions or a 10-year-old kid saving up pocket change," everyone can have their own piece of history.

Fossil Shack is a family business owned by Seth and his wife. He hails from Sanpete County, his wife is from Spanish Fork, and they currently live in Salem. They service customers around the world, including museums in places as diverse as the Philippines and Slovakia, but they decided that they wanted to stay in Utah Valley to raise their kids.

While most of their work represents the "restore" portion of the "dig -> restore -> educate" pipeline, they also do some of the digging and education portions as well. He maintains a small handful of employees working at a private quarry they own, and a few in the shop.

How did he get started?, I asked. "Just a box of fossil rocks in my living room" as a kid. From there, it was project based, taking care of cleaning and preparation work for one buyer at a time. The welding he learned in high school has also been vital to the engineering process of wiring the bones together cleanly for exhibits.

The retail side is only a relatively small side-venture. Their main focus and primary revenue stream has traditionally been fossil preparation for big-ticket customers like museums and wealthy collectors, such as a piece he recently finished on commission for the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.

Even though selling to local customers doesn't make much in comparison, Seth says it's a rewarding cause -- a mission helping kids get excited to own their own piece of natural history and maybe get them started dreaming about going into paleontology themselves someday.

On that note, one of Fossil Shack's primary purposes is public education. Seth recently made arrangements with the Payson Library to bring over exhibits for kids to see at booths in the library later this year and to have the librarians bring kids to his shop as part of their event programming. He is similarly working with one of the local schools to arrange a field trip. Young visitors will get to see the workshop side in action and learn how artifacts from fossil digs are professionally cleaned and prepared for display. Relatedly, one of his near-range goals is to start his own paleontology museum in South Utah County under a nonprofit that he recently formed.

 

I inquired how a hobbyist like him gets started, and even more interestingly, how a hobbyist ends up as a global-servicing professional. "It's all referral-based." Since there are so few people doing the restoration phase professionally, "someone out in a place like Montana or Morocco digs and finds their first fossil, and they ask their contacts who does prep work. Their contacts tell the guy to call someone like us."

Only a small handful of suppliers like him constitute the fossil-preparation industry worldwide, so it's heavily networking-based. The few businesses who do what he does face constant and high demand; Fossil Shack's current work backlog is 4 to 5 years. That demand comes partly from wealthy individuals like movie stars or famous athletes who acquire big pieces to display at home, like a triceratops he recently installed in a sports star's mansion entryway.

Their other main source of demand is museums. Even though many natural-history museums have a staff display where visitors get to see extraction projects taking place live behind plexiglass, museums tend to outsource most of that work to private shops like his. His recent contracted effort for the Smithsonian emerged from a referral. The Smithsonian had reached out to their contacts asking who could take care of a project they needed done, and another museum he had recently serviced dropped his name. 

It's not just the expertise that high-profile outlets come to him for, it's also his private quarry. For instance, besides his own employees, he also allows staff from Fossil Butte National Monument, the National Park Service center in Wyoming, to dig in his quarry as well and freely donates to the park service whatever they extract.

My own assessment: If I didn't already live in Payson, it would easily be worth coming all the way from Ogden or Delta to give my kids the chance to see live professional fossil-prep work up close... and maybe each come home with a tooth or a trilobite in a box. 

With a showroom of display shelves already set up, Fossil Shack is currently open by appointment as they finish renovating the rest of the building.

Visitors can reach out via their website, https://www.fossilshack.com/. Seth is currently coordinating a grand opening with the Chamber of Commerce, anticipated to take place sometime within the next month.

Mourning the Passing of Our Friend

Pearl Elaine Henline Peters

Pearl Elaine Henline Peters, 89, passed away Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at her home in Ivins, Utah. Pearl was born April 26, 1937, in Magna, Utah, to Alvie Russell Henline and Clara Pearl Lewellen.

When Pearl was seven, her family moved up Spanish Fork Canyon to Mt. Rose Ranch. Her parents and three sisters lived in a tent with an outhouse before purchasing a home in Springville, Utah, which had to be transported 12 miles to the Ranch.

Pearl loved the outdoors and worked hard alongside her father doing chores, proving she was the best “son” her parents ever had. Her horse Blaze was a beloved friend; she enjoyed riding and grooming him.

Her family later moved to Payson, Utah, where Pearl attended junior and senior high school. She was a proud member of the Payson Lion Pep Club.

Pearl met the love of her life, John Peters, in 1953 during her sophomore year. After graduating from Payson High School in 1955, Pearl waited patiently for three more years while John served a mission in South America. She worked as a Bell Telephone operator saving money and planning for their future together.

Pearl married John Allan Peters July 11, 1958, in the Logan, Utah Temple. They lived in Payson, moving to Springville for John’s first teaching position.

In 1963, Pearl and John, along with Jane and Alvie, moved to Buena Park, California, adding three more children, Annette, Pamela, and Paul. Pearl served for years in the scouting program as a den mother, Cub Scout leader, Merit Badge counsellor and Advancement Chairman. Seeing the young boys earn merit badges and live the Boy Scout Oath gave her great joy.

Pearl’s family moved south to Laguna Hills, CA in 1980, where Pearl worked as a special education aide with elementary school children. Pearl loved holidays and delighted dressing up portraying Mother Goose, the Easter Bunny, Mrs. Claus, and more.

Pearl and John returned home to Utah in 1994. They spent their last 30 years thriving in Southern Utah and competing in bowling leagues together year‑round.

Pearl enjoyed crafting, scrapbooking, family history, and exchanging books with her friends. Pearl loved America and was very patriotic. She was widely known as the Red, White, and Blue Lady. She will surely enjoy this summer’s 250th Celebration from above.

One of Pearl’s most cherished memories was traveling with John to South America, where John served his mission in Argentina and Chile. Seeing and experiencing the people and land he loved was a personal highlight of the trip.

Pearl loved reading the Scriptures and sharing her testimony with others. In her later year, Pearl and John served in the Baptistry of the St. George Temple and as service missionaries in a Spanish-speaking ward in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Pearl had a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and The Plan of Salvation.

Pearl is survived by her children: Jane Guthrie (Randy), Highlands Ranch, CO; Annette Peters, Reno, NV; and Pamela Munsterman, Ivins, UT, and Paul Eldred Peters (Rabecca), Oceanside, CA; along with numerous grandchildren and great‑grandchildren.

Pearl is preceded in death by her husband John Allan Peters; her parents Alvie and Clara Henline; her son Alvie Peters; and her sisters Luana Baadsgaard and Janice Lazenby and Son-in-Law David Munsterman.

Graveside service and internment will be held Saturday, May 9, 2026, at 11:30 AM at Payson City Cemetery.

Arrangements entrusted to the care of Metcalf Bonzo Mortuary, (435) 673-4221. Please visit our website at www.metcalfbonzomortuary.com for condolences and funeral listings.

Payson Globe-Header Advertisement

 

PAYSON PEOPLE

This advertisement for Wilson Millinery & Ladies Furnishings appeared in The Payson Chronicle in the spring of 1933. The shop, which was located along South Main Street in the downtown district, was included in a business directory in the newspaper’s “Industrial Edition” several years before. “With a modern store on Main Street of this city you will find one of the most up to date stores of its kind to be found in any of the smaller towns in this district, featuring millinery, ready-to-wear, and many specialities,” the 1929 directory read. At that time Clyde Wilson had been the owner and manager of the business for 25 years, and had “proven herself to be a very capable business woman as well as a booster for the community.” Throughout its years in business, Wilson hired numerous skilled women who worked with her to maintain the shop’s high reputation for quality and style. 

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Our American Story

PICTURED: People gather in Downtown Payson to celebrate the end of World War II with a victory parade.

 

The 250th anniversary of our nation is not only a time to look back, but also to look forward. Many see 2026 as an opportunity to confront the country’s imperfections while honoring its resilience. Conversations about democracy, equality, and freedom are as vital today as they were in 1776.

Join the conversation.

We want to know what being an American means to you. What are your hopes for our nation’s future? 

Send us your American story in essay form, as an original poem, or composed in lyrics to a song—all for consideration of publication in The Payson Chronicle in the weeks leading up to America's 250th birthday celebration. 

Send your submission to paysonchronicle@gmail.com, or submit in person or by mail at 145 East Utah Avenue #5, Payson, Utah 84651.

In this week’s edition of The Payson Chronicle

 

In This Week’s Edition

 

Our American Story

A Decade and a Half After Citizens United: How One Supreme Court Decision Reshaped American Politics

In January 2010, the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States fundamentally altered the landscape of American campaign finance. By a 5–4 vote, the Court held that corporations and labor unions have a constitutional right under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution to spend unlimited amounts of money on independent political advocacy. In doing so, the decision overturned decades of legal precedent and effectively dismantled key provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, commonly known as McCain-Feingold.

At the heart of the case was a dispute over whether a nonprofit corporation, Citizens United, could air and promote a critical film about then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic primaries. Federal law at the time prohibited corporations and unions from using general treasury funds for “electioneering communications” close to an election. The Court’s majority, led by Justice Anthony Kennedy, ruled that such restrictions amounted to censorship of political speech.

The majority opinion framed political spending as a form of protected expression, asserting that the government cannot limit speech based on the speaker’s identity. “The First Amendment does not allow political speech restrictions based on a speaker’s corporate identity,” Kennedy wrote. In essence, the ruling equated the political speech rights of corporations and unions with those of individual citizens, at least in the context of independent expenditures.

Critics, including the dissenting justices led by Justice John Paul Stevens, argued that the decision ignored the potential for corruption or undue influence. Stevens warned that corporations, unlike individuals, are artificial entities with vast financial resources and no direct accountability to voters. Allowing them to spend freely in elections, he argued, risked distorting the democratic process.

The Rise of Super PACs and Dark Money

In the years following the decision, its impact became immediately visible. Perhaps the most significant development was the rise of “Super PACs,” or independent expenditure-only political action committees. These organizations can raise unlimited funds from individuals, corporations, and unions, provided they do not coordinate directly with candidates or campaigns.

Super PACs quickly became major players in federal and state elections, spending hundreds of millions—and eventually billions—of dollars on advertising and advocacy. While candidates themselves remain subject to contribution limits, these outside groups often dominate the airwaves, shaping public perception of races from presidential contests to local elections.

Another consequence has been the growth of so-called “dark money.” Certain nonprofit organizations, often organized under sections of the tax code that do not require donor disclosure, can spend heavily on political messaging without revealing their funding sources. This has made it more difficult for voters to know who is behind the ads they see.

Supporters of the decision argue that it has expanded political participation by allowing more voices to be heard. They contend that independent expenditures do not inherently corrupt the political process because they are not coordinated with candidates. From this perspective, the ruling strengthens free speech and limits government overreach.

Opponents, however, see a system increasingly dominated by wealthy donors and powerful organizations. They argue that while speech may be technically free, it is not equally amplified. A billionaire or major corporation can now spend far more to influence elections than an average citizen, raising concerns about political equality.

Changes in the Political Climate

Since 2010, American elections have grown markedly more expensive. Presidential election cycles now routinely cost billions of dollars, with outside spending playing a central role. Campaigns have become more reliant on media strategies, particularly television and digital advertising funded by Super PACs.

The decision has also contributed to a more polarized political environment. Outside groups often produce highly targeted and sometimes negative advertising, designed to energize specific segments of the electorate. Without direct accountability to a candidate, these groups may take more aggressive approaches, which can deepen divisions among voters.

Additionally, the influence of major donors has become a defining feature of modern campaigns. While small-dollar fundraising has increased in the digital age, large contributions to Super PACs still account for a significant portion of political spending. This dynamic has fueled ongoing debates about whether elected officials are more responsive to major donors than to the general public.

Impact on Everyday Americans

For ordinary Americans, the effects of Citizens United are both direct and indirect. On a practical level, voters are exposed to more political advertising than ever before. During election seasons, television, social media, and even streaming platforms are saturated with messages funded by outside groups.

The decision also influences the types of issues that receive attention. Organizations with substantial financial backing can elevate certain topics, shaping the national conversation. This can mean greater visibility for some causes, but it may also crowd out others that lack similar resources.

There are broader implications for trust in government as well. Surveys in the years since the ruling have shown persistent public concern about the role of money in politics. Many Americans believe that wealthy donors and corporations wield too much influence, which can erode confidence in democratic institutions.

At the same time, the decision has energized reform movements. Advocacy groups across the political spectrum have called for measures such as increased transparency, public financing of campaigns, or even a constitutional amendment to overturn the ruling. Several states and municipalities have experimented with new systems designed to amplify small donors and reduce reliance on large contributions.

More than fifteen years after it was decided, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission remains one of the most controversial rulings in modern American history. It sits at the intersection of two core democratic values: free speech and political equality. While the Court emphasized the former, critics argue that the latter has been compromised.

Mourning the Passing of Our Friend

Garth Peart

Ben Garth Peart, age 87, passed away peacefully on April 26, 2026, at his home in Spring Lake, Utah, surrounded by his loving family after a valiant battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Garth was born on April 30, 1938, in Santaquin, Utah. He attended school in Santaquin and Payson. On November 16, 1956, he married the love of his life, Nedra Ellen Hiatt.

Garth dedicated 30 years of service to the State of Utah as a surveyor. Outside of work, his life centered around his deep love for his family. He was an incredible husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Some of his most cherished moments were spent taking his grandsons fishing and being with his family.

After retiring, Garth found great joy in driving his grandchildren to school each morning, teaching them to appreciate life’s simple blessings. He had a special way of making each person feel known and loved, even giving every family member a unique nickname—names that will be treasured forever.

Garth and Nedra shared a love for their team of mules, participating in parades, weddings, funerals, and wagon trains throughout Utah and Wyoming. He was known for his strength, dependability, and steady presence. If you were fortunate enough to be his friend, you knew you had someone truly solid in your corner.

He is survived by his loving wife, Nedra Peart; his three children: Benny (Susan) Peart, Angela (Brad) Stanton, and Natalie (Mike) Stauffer; his grandchildren: Trevor Peart, Austin Stanton, Brianne Carter, Colten Stanton, Rebecca Oberg, Hilary Larsen, and Bailee Tanner; and his 12 great-grandchildren.

He will be deeply missed. We will honor his life by striving to live with the same love, strength, and devotion he showed to all of us.

Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at 1:00 pm at the Spring Lake LDS Church, 12625 S Spring Lake Road with a viewing from 12:00 to 12:45 pm prior to the services. Interment, Santaquin City Cemetery. 

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PAYSON PEOPLE

 

James F. Hiatt Jr. was born in Payson in 1897. A certified electrical engineer—he earned his diploma from the American School in Chicago, Illinois in 1933–Hiatt worked as an electrician for Payson City for 28 years. And he repaired radios at a time when families gathered around the mass medium tech for entertainment and the news of the day. The ad for his repair service that appears here was published in The Payson Chronicle in 1937, when an estimated 75% of U.S. households had at least one radio receiver. It was the Golden Age of Radio.

PAYSON PEOPLE

 

Ella Larsen was born in May 1914 in Odense, Denmark, the tenth child of Lars and Karen Marie Larsen. The family emigrated from Denmark to the United States when she was six years old, and lived for a time in Payson. While finishing school, she studied to become a beautician, and opened a beauty salon at age 16 with a loan from her father that she paid off quickly. Ella met the love of her life Roy Gale when she was 15 and they were married in June 1932 in the Salt Lake Temple—not long after her advertisement for permanent waves at Vogue Beauty Shoppe appeared in The Payson Chronicle’s May 20, 1932 edition.