Disney

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Heyburn kids read the summer away

May Melycher, 8, enjoys the food at a special picnic for students who participated in a successful summer reading program at Heyburn Elementary.

By Wayne Hoffman

Heyburn – You don’t picture students reading and taking tests during the summer. But at Heyburn, students have just finished a program which encouraged them to do both on their own.

Heyburn Elementary School Students have been going to the school library two days a week since June. They’ve been encouraged to check out books based on how well they’re able to read on their own.

When they’re done with each book, they take a computer comprehension test. Correct answers earn them points to spend at the school’s Reader’s Emporium.

The Parent Teacher’s Organization sponsors the Reader’s Emporium – a special store where earned points earn everything from costume jewelry to stuffed cougars to radios.

May Melycher, 8, said she enjoyed reading books to her little brother, Jesse, 3.

“I mostly read Disney books because he likes the stories,” May said. “He likes Lion King the best.”

May’s mom, Jackie Melycher, said the reading program has helped Jesse, as he’s been a slow talker.

It’s helped May, also.

“May is a good reader,” Jackie Melycher said. She’s done so well in Mrs. Jones’ class.”

About 500 hundred students signed up to check out books and take tests during the summer. Yesterday, the kids who took part in the program and the parents and school staffers who helped with it were honored at a special picnic on school grounds.

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Beryl, Utah

Amanda and Paul Ross at our property in Beryl, Utah

There are various benefits from family history. I have various stories that come from fortuitous interactions with the living and the dead. Here is another one of those physical manifestations that come from doing family history.

My grandfather, Milo James Ross, had a half sister June Ethelyn Streeter. June lived her final years with her daughter, Ina Corsaro, in Adelanto, California. I made contact with and visited through the years with Ina and her husband, Merk French.

At one point I had visited with Grandpa about June’s father, Mark Streeter. Grandpa said he would shoot that traitor himself. Grandpa was sometimes pretty forthright, but that was one instance where it shocked me with the abruptness of his language.

In 2019, we took Aliza and Hiram to Disneyland. One of the conditions of the California trip was a stop to try and visit with Ina in Adelanto. While we were there, we connected with a family member I had never met. She was kind enough to let me take a couple of photo albums and other family history on the condition I return them. Of course I did so. Ina and I spent several months naming and getting those photos and documents uploaded to FamilySearch and properly identified.

Fast forward a year or two and I got a random phone call from Ina. She and Merk had purchased a parcel of land in Beryl, Iron, Utah in the 1970s. She had no use for it, she said it wasn’t worth much, and it was in Utah. She asked if I would be interested in it and she would give it as a gift in gratitude for all the help with family history work. I said sure.

We jumped through the hoops with a Utah title company and got the transfer done.

A beautiful day in Beryl, Utah

We took a trip through southern Utah with the kids in March of 2021. We spent a few days in St. George and we ventured out of our way to stop by our nearly gifted property in Beryl, Utah. The photo above is the kids taking our picture on the land we believe we own. There are not clear coordinates and this is as close as we could approximate our parcels. We think we got pretty close.

Our property taxes are about $10 a year. There are no weed or other duties for the parcel. We don’t know how often we will get to visit it. But we own dirt in Utah now, which only came about because of family and family history. So far it is a blessing, hopefully it will always be that way. What does the future hold for this parcel? Will it be in our life?