Muir Beaver Reunion

A couple of  Muir families left Scotland, came to America, headed west to be with the rest of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members, and were called to Cedar City to work. After a while some of them headed north to Beaver, Utah, where they lived for a few generations before spreading out in northern Utah. Because of this, some of the descendants of James and Hannah Elizabeth Orton Muir met up for Beaver Pioneer Days and our reunion.


Can I just say, Dad's cousin Lesa is AMAZING! She organized everything, made arrangements and back-up arrangements, and researched pretty much every ancestor in the family. Thanks, Lesa. The photo scavenger hunt added an extra element of excitement and fun. 2nd place! Oh yeah!

Zak stayed home to work, since the reunion was mid-week, so my parents offered to drive the kiddos and me, as well as my brother, Aaron. My favorite part was going over the photos in the slideshow Lesa's family prepared, and hearing the older generations reminisce about their childhoods. When the date was in question, males and females showed how their brains worked. Women recalled ages of children, and men recalled ages of vehicles. I learned about Uncle Dennis accidentally catching Aunt Susan's dress on fire with a sparkler, and Dad melting part of Grandpa Calvin Hooper's soft car top with another sparkler. I loved seeing Grandpa Calvin Hooper's boyhood pictures with his mom in Beaver. We even got to drive by the house where he was born, along with several other relatives. The black rock and pink rock quarried nearby to use for local houses really gave that part of town an identity.

Summer Eats

Along with several of Zak's co-workers, we went  to Big Jud's Burgers, of Travel Channel's Man v. Food fame. They  have 1 lb., 2 lb., and up to a 4 lb. burger with a platter of fries. Zak and I each ordered the 1-pounder meal. I cut it into quarters, and made it through half. I can only handle a few fries at a time, so I transferred handfuls of fries onto Zak's platter, which I regretted when he attempted to eat the entire meal to make it onto the Wall of Fame. I took a few fries back, but Zak ventured on, finishing his one-pounder and grease-soaked fries. I managed an ice cream cone after my half-pound burger, which was delicious. When I was little, my parents would take us to central/southern Utah to visit family. We'd usually stop in Ferron, UT at this little diner with a wall of fame board for their large burger. We never attempted, and now Zak has conquered!

I've also had a lot of fun with the teenage girls in our church congregation, with whom I volunteer. We got to decorate some tasty cupcakes and help with the watermelon eating contest at our Pioneer Day Picnic.

I was the caller, to get some people to the watermelon stand. After dinner, Zak went up against one of the missionaries, who apparently can hold his own with food, because with the challenge to eat four slices of their choosing, leaving as little red or pink as possible, the Elder won. Some other enjoyable Pioneer Days have been spent with congregations playing corn hole in Kentucky, as well as the kids having a cardboard handcart and wagon parade in Ohio.