Historical Society honors Janet Petersen at Cowboy Poetry event

By Patsy Stoddard
Editor

The popular Cowboy Poetry gathering was held at the Castle Valley Ranch on Aug. 23. The event is sponsored by the Emery County Historical Society.
Board President LoriAnn Larsen welcomed everyone out to the event. “Thanks to Suzanne and Troy Anderson for the cobblers. Many thanks to the Castle Valley Ranch for use of this beautiful facility. I’d like to introduce Woody and Paige Johnson the owners.”
Woody thanked everyone for coming to the event. He’s happy to lend the use of the ranch and this was the first Cowboy Poetry gathering, he’s been able to attend.
Larsen thanked the band Country Roads for playing for the group. Carter Grant is the leader of the group with Rick Sandoval on bass, Loren Answorth rhythm guitar and vocals and Dallon Grant on the drums.
The Historical Society presented their Preserving the Past Award to Janet Petersen. Larsen read a tribute to Petersen and she was presented with a plaque made by Bernice Payne.
“Janet married Kent Petersen from Ferron and had a great experience moving from Massachusetts to Arizona while he served Uncle Sam. They returned to Utah to attend he University of Utah.
“Kent went to work for Hill Field and Janet went to work for Surety Life Insurance company as an Executive Secretary for the Vice President. They lived in the Cottonwood area of Salt Lake City for several years and later moved to Bountiful and then Farmington to make the commute shorter. After moving to Bountiful, Janet went to work as a medical assistant to two doctors there.
“In 1980, the Petersens moved back to Ferron as Kent got a job as the plant engineer at the Hunter Power Plant. They built their home in South Ferron, enjoyed the peace and quiet of the country and had a few cows and horses to keep them occupied. They raised four beautiful children and have 12 lovely grandchildren who are the joy of their lives. They love to camp and travel and see new places.
“After moving to Emery County, Janet worked for Emery County for 18 years before her retirement. She was very involved with the Historical Society and the development of the Museum of the San Rafael. After she retired from the county she was appointed as director/administrator of the two museums in Castle Dale. It was a labor of love as she was involved in their growth and improvement.
“Jan first got involved with the Museum of the San Rafael when they were asked to join the museum board during the construction of the new building. She was involved in getting the funding. Near the end of construction, it was apparent they were going to run out of money before they were able to finish the building and obtain artifacts and displays. So she participated in obtaining additional funding and procuring the artifacts so the museum would be successful. She was instrumental in obtaining exhibits from a museum in Las Vegas and was able to convince people to let the museum put their taxidermy animals on display.
“She spent a lot of her free time helping while she was working for the county and after she retired, she continued with the museum on a volunteer basis.
“She was eventually appointed to be the museum director. She was also appointed by the governor to the Board of the Office of Museum Services and she participated in national museum meetings to improve rural museums. She obtained several traveling exhibits. She was involved in Emery County’s celebration of Utah’s Statehood days and started the Folk Art Festival which was held during the county fair. She worked with the Utah Historic Preservation Commission to obtain grants to replace windows in the pioneer museum. The museum was the gathering spot for many large meetings and events. She always said the museum belongs to everyone in the county and encouraged everyone to use the beautiful building. It was the site of many weddings and receptions.
“She has been a tremendous ambassador for Emery County in so many ways. The work she has done with the museums has helped preserve so much history for us here and we appreciate so much all of the time she has donated to helping the citizens of our county,” concluded Larsen.
Cowboy poets Russell Swasey, Darcey Guymon, Mike Sewell and Lee Jeffs entertained with their colorful stories and poems. Country Roads played a few more songs. Kent Petersen told a few stories of his own as the emcee.
Larsen said the first cowboy poetry events were held in the Petersens yard but when the crowd outgrew the yard the event was moved to the Castle Valley Ranch. She thanked Kent for being the emcee for the evening.
Cowboy poetry originated with cowboys on cattle drives and at ranches entertaining themselves and each other around the camp fire. The cowboys would gather and tell tall tales and play folk songs. This tradition is being kept alive and well through the efforts of the Emery County Historical Society. Their next event will be a tour to Spring City, the site of historic coal mines on Sept. 22.