WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
PERSONAL MEMORIES OF
PRES. WARREN G. HARDING'S VISIT TO SOUTHERN UTAH
June 27, 1923
NORMA BRINGHURST EMPEY
When I was about twelve years old, there had never been a United States President in the state of Utah up to this time. [In 1923] President [Warren Gamaliel] Harding was making a tour of the [western] states and came to Zion National Park [Washington County, Utah]. His main stop in the southern part of the state was to be in Toquerville. They took all the Primary children’s names and put them in a box [for] a drawing. The drawing was [conducted] by one of the [Washington] County officials. My name and Dorothy Anderson’s name were drawn. We presented him with a big basket of fruit and a horseshoe of flowers. It was a big beautiful hand-woven Indian basket. It had all of Utah Dixie fruit in it. I presented this to the president. We went up on the platform and shook hands with the president and his wife [Florence (King) Harding]. We sat on her lap and by her all during the ceremony. Before [his] trip was completed, the president died [on August 2, 1923] in [San Francisco] California from poisoning [possibly a heart attack]. When [the group] returned to Washington D. C., I received a letter with the White House seal [thanking us] for the basket of fruit.Dixie State University Oral History Project
Access Number 69-126A-C, Recorded 6/30/1969
ETHEL McMULLIN GEORGE
I thought it was interesting and very exciting when a President of the United States came to our area. I saw three of them. The first one was Warren G. Harding [when] he was making a stop at Toquerville. A friend and I rode over [on] horseback [so] we could get a close-up view [and] took pictures. That was a fun day.Dixie State University Oral History Project
Access Number 83-001, Recorded 10/1983
J.L. CRAWFORD
JLC: Let me tell you about this commercial band you were talking about. A. K. [Andrew Karl] Larson tells this in one of his books. When President [Warren G.] Harding came to Zion [National Park] Canyon, I can remember that, I shook hands with him, but this little martial band, all that was left of [what] was John Dennett—NB: Hy Justit.
JLC: Hy Justit had moved in from Long Valley. He’s half Indian, but he was a good musician. He played the violin and usually played the pipes. So they had a pipe and drum corp. John Dennett played the bass, no he played the snare drum, Freeborn Gifford played the bass drum, and Oliver Gifford played the snare drum. So those three drummers and this one fifer, and they met this presidential party right at the entrance of the park and they played some martial numbers. President Harding said, “Boys, I’ve heard a lot of drumming in my life, but this is the best I’ve ever heard.” That’s how good they were.
Dixie State University Oral History Project
Access Number 93-002, Recorded 11/29/1993
J.L. CRAWFORD
JLC: I did have some other pictures that I was going to pass around. I beg your pardon. In 1923 the President of the United States [Warren G. Harding] visited Zion [National Park]. [Here] is a picture of [the visit].UV: [Inaudible] one of those [sheets] of your dates?
JLC: Oh, yes. Thank you. But I only have a dozen of them. These, if anybody is interested, here are the important dates of Springdale’s history. I have only a dozen of these. If you seriously want to know that, you can pick one up or we can print more of them. I thank you for-
Dixie State University Oral History Project
Access Number 98-010, Recorded 3/18/1998