HISTORY OF JOHN JAMES WALTON
(as written by his son, Leon Charles Walton, 1966)

John James Walton was born February 7, 1858 at Alpine, Utah, the second of four sons born to Joseph and Ann Thompson Walton. He grew up as a typical farm youth, with the meager schooling provided, and the limited food and other living conditions of his time.

When 16, he left home to attend school at the newly organized Brigham Young Academy at Provo, Utah. His worldly goods when he left home consisted of a few clothes besides what he wore, a 100- pound sack of flour, and 25 cents in paper money. That was all. His father drove him to Provo in the old wagon, and arranged for him to sleep in the school house by doing the janitor work in exchange therefor. He took his sack of flour to a baker and took it out in a loaf of bread a day. This, washed down with the pure Provo water, provided his breakfast, dinner, and supper.

He started his schooling under Karl G. Maeser, Master of the Academy, and made satisfactory grades. He told that finally one Sunday he had become so hungry on bread and water that he went home after meeting with a boy he knew and had his first REAL meal, at which he was so hungry that he was ashamed of what he ate. Whether it was the observation of the boy's mother or not, but something Intervened, and he entered the home of Dr. Maeser as chore boy in exchange for his keep. Part of his time at Provo he was chore boy in the Provo home of President Brigham Young, which was, I believe, his final year at school. He told many interesting anecdotes about both households not recorded In the history books, but he DID acquire an outstanding education with the facilities at his command. Since the Maesers were German, that language was generally used in the home, and he became fluent in its use.

He pursued the usual activities in dramatics, etc., and three years after entering the Academy, he graduated as one of the FIRST GRADUATING CLASS of the Brigham Young Academy, the progenitor of the present B.Y.U. Two other members of the graduating class were Reed Smoot and James E. Talmage.

As was the custom, he was assigned to his first school, which was at Fountain Green, Utah, later being sent to Springville, Utah to teach. He was at this time 19 years of age. As was also the custom, he arranged for a school house in which to meet, and his only fees were the tuitions paid by the pupils. I do not recall what the fee was, but at one time he had nearly 100 pupils of all ages, many of whom were beginners with whiskers who attended only when farm work permitted. (In 1914 he rounded up as many of the original group as he could find for a photograph which Includes some of the leading professional and business people of Springville.)

He taught at Springville fox eight years, and during the time was very active in Home Dramatics, the group putting on a new play every week, which meant memorizing parts for fresh plays every week, and rehearsals, so his time was well spent. On the 1st of July 1880 he married one of his pupils, Anna Catherine Bissell.

After eight years in Springville, he moved to Salt Lake City, where he started teaching in the old 10th Ward School. After six years here, he Joined the faculty of the Latter-day Saints Academy as teacher in penmanship and the Book of Mormon. In those days, the Church was having financial trouble, and it reached the point where employees were paid in Tithing Script, which was not redeemable at face value, so, after two years at the Academy, he resigned and never returned to teaching. He always took an active part in home dramatics and was also a teacher In elocution and was well known for his ability as a high class entertainer in his profession. In later years, at Christmas time, he played the part of Santa Claus, much to his delight and to the delight of the small children.

He engaged in various activities: operated a bird and pet store for a time, and held other positions until the year 1902, when he made an important move.

In those years, eight children were born to them: six sons and two daughters. The two girls died in infancy; one boy, Ivan, died at age 3 of diphtheria; and their next to eldest son, Austin, was killed in a runaway at the corner of 9th East and 1st South in 1898. About 1890 they bought a lot and built a house at 246 Ivan Court (which was still standing in 1964), Ivan Court being named in honor of their son Ivan. This court is between 7th and 8th East Streets. Their eldest daughter, Xenia, died and was buried in Springville, the others in Salt Lake City.

Around the turn of the century, the Canadian province of Alberta opened the southern districts to homesteading and advertised the fact in the Western States. Glowing pictures were painted of the excellent farming and ranching conditions in an effort to attract settlers. For many years prior to this time, ranchers from the Northern States had been ranging cattle throughout this area, but there had been very little farming. The brochures told of the wonderful climate and the excellent "belly-high" grass. Apparently the writers of the advertisements lived in the East, where the cattle were short legged; and, as for the pleasant climate, the Chinook winds rivaled anything the Plains States could produce, and the winters were so cold that old timers said one could put out a pan of boiling water and it would freeze so quickly that the ice would still be warm.

Among those who listened to the clarion call was John Walton. In 1902, he loaded the family belongings into a freight car and started northward. He bought horses, cows, and machinery in Salt Lake to ship. He often wondered why he did, but he did it that way. After a long, cold, and difficult Journey, he arrived at

the town of Raymond, Alberta early in the spring, and set about building a house for the family scheduled to follow. The family, consisting of his wife and three sons Hazen, Rex, and Leon, followed in July. John, the eldest, had a good job in Salt Lake so did not accompany them. As soon as possible, John Walton and his son Hazen filed on homesteads which were in the Woodpecker District, about 30 miles east of Lethbridge, at the place now known as Barnwell. In making the trip to Canada, it was accomplished in an open cattle car, a freight car not being available. He encountered a blizzard enroute, while passing through Montana, so his discomfort can well be imagined.

Each filed on a quarter section, in Section 34, Township 9, Range 16, extending northward from the Canadian Pacific Railroad line to near the Belly River (now called Oldman River). Here they built a small house, and such other buildings as were necessary., as the requirements called for a minimum of 18 months' residence on the land.

Using a hand plow, several acres, as required, were plowed, mostly by Hazen. When it Is realized that each mile of walking did only an eighth of an acre, It was quite a job to be done. The family moved from Raymond to the farm in the summer of 1904. During the winters of 1903 and 1904 John worked in the Raymond Sugar Factory, where, incidentally, he sacked the first sack of sugar packed there. The family remained on the farm and looked after the livestock. The period at the factory was for only a few weeks, and the money was greatly needed.

During the summer of 1905 occurred an event vivid in the fiveyear-old mind of the present writer. one afternoon, during a Chinook wind, fire flared up on a farm a couple of miles away, the farm of one Mark Johnson, who was absent in Raymond at the time. Sweeping across the prairie it poised a threat to the little homestead. Since water had to be hauled in barrels from the nearest well two miles distant, the problem took on added worry. However, by plowing a "fire guard" of a couple of rows about 20 feet apart and burning the grass in between, and the whole family attacking the advancing flames with every means at their command so that the flames did not Jump the fire guard, they were able to keep It in hand, and it burned itself out about 100 yards from the edge of the Walton land. I can easily understand why my mother, upon leaving Canada a dozen years later, remarked, "I would not go through the past years again for the whole west end of Canada." I was the five-year-old.

In the fall of 1905, the residence period having been complied with, the farm house was hoisted onto a couple of telegraph poles slung between the carriages of wagons, and hauled to the town of Taber, about five miles to the east. It was only a small town, but it was a town, with a school.. a meeting house, and a few stores. The town had been settled by a family by the name of Hull, from Utah, several of the brothers filing on land near the C.P.R. water tank and section house. From this grew the town of

Taber.

Here, Rex and Leon were able to attend school. Hazen attended for a while, but there was little for one of his age. John Walton opened and operated a night school for adults who had missed earlier schooling, and conducted it for a couple of winters. Otherwise, the family lived on what was produced on the farm in the summer, and the garden raised in town. Coal mining became quite an industry with several small mines being started in the area. One company operated a large colliery, using steel tipple, and more modern equipment than the others, and both Hazen and his father spent considerable time In various phases of work at this industry. During the years he worked at the Canada West Collieries, as the coal mining company was called, it meant a two- mile walk before sunrise in the morning and after sunset at night, often in bitter cold. While his work was "weigh-boss", a clerical job, the steel tipple on which he worked was about 80 feet above the ground with no protection from the cold except a thin steel wall. To keep warm, the men would wrap gunny sacks around their feet, giving a grotesque, but more comfortable look. The mines usually did not operate the entire year, so those who could made the most of the opportunity.

In the autumn of 1908, John filed on the quarter next to his, which meant 18 more months of farm residence and another house to be built on the farm. A house was built In town that fall, a good 5-room house, during the summer of 1909, and that fall Hazen went to Salt Lake and took a business course, thus ending his role of an Alberta farmer.

Life continued about normal for John Walton. He was always in demand as an entertainer, and director of plays. During every season several plays would be produced by church and other organizations, and he was usually a director.

In 1915 both he and Hazen found buyers for their farm lands, following the projection of an irrigation project which included all their land. There had been many years of crop failures and hardship, so he was willing to let someone else reap the harvest irrigation promised. In the summer of 1917, their eldest son John died in Pasadena, California, and they lost all interest In Canada. Selling out all remaining property, they moved back to Salt Lake City and he and his two sons bought homes on McClelland Street in Sugar House.

He and his son Hazen intended to use their farm sale money to establish some enterprise, but payments were dependent on crops and the crops were dependent on rain, so the payments were irregular and the money gradually was used. John engaged at different activities, but it was difficult for a man of his age to reestablish himself in the market, as he was now 60. They had their home paid for, and he sold car tickets for the traction company for a long time, and later became night watchman for the School Board in their warehouse, as well as other things in the meantime.At first, it hurt his pride to accept lesser positions,but he realized that his long sojourn in Canada removed him from the Utah scene. They were comfortable, and contented with their children and grandchildren nearby.

July 1, 1930 would be their Golden Wedding anniversary and their family were planning a suitable ceremony, but the Gods intervened, and Anna left the 8th of April on the journey of no return. John kept on at his work. He arranged for perpetual care of the family cemetery plot, made his Will, and put his affairs in order. In April of the following year he visited his son Leon and family In Phoenix, Arizona, where he enjoyed the wonderful climate, and was able to pick some oranges, quite an experience for one who had lived so long in frigid Canada. He became indisposed while there, and decided to hurry home. In Los Angeles he took sick, and his nephew, Dr. W. W. Bennett, put him where he could have professional attention. A preliminary operation for prostatitis was performed there, and he was then taken home where the complete operation was performed. He rallied, but a few days later a blood clot developed and he Joined the wife from whom he had then been separated longer than at any previous time in over half a century. This was In May of 1931.

He passed on, owing no man, after a life of integrity of which all who follow can be proud. He was proud to count among his friends many prominent people in Utah and elsewhere. He lived in the homes of Dr. Karl G. Maeser and Brigham Young while attending the Academy. In later years I (Leon) often accompanied him on visits to these people, who always greeted him with the greatest cordiality. Educators, legislators, professional men, he had a wide circle of, not just acquaintances, but people who addressed him as real friends, and some who have accorded me favors out of respect for his memory.

His old scrap book from which several of the pioneer songs have been taken was one of his most valued treasures. He was very anxious to obtain a copy of the book, but died on May 22, 1931 just prior to its completion.

He lived to see all of his children married and to see all 16 of his grandchildren. The world would be a lot better world If there were more men like John Walton, and his beloved wife Anna.