Providence rebuilds monument for its 150th anniversary

PROVIDENCE, Cache County — I grew up in what is now known as

\"historic downtown Providence.\" It was just Providence back then, a

largely farming and fruit-growing community perched at the edge of the

foothills, under the shadows of Big and Little Baldy mountains.

We went to church in the Old Rock Church, which had a huge painting

by native son Ev Thorpe hanging at the back of the stand that depicted

the early days of Providence. A phrase from \"Come, Come Ye Saints\" ran

across the bottom: \"We'll find a place which God for us prepared.\" To

me, that kind of summed up Providence.

One of my other favorite things was the monument to the first

settlers that sat on the lawn in front of the church, containing a

plaque with the names of the earliest settlers. None of my ancestors

were listed; we were newcomers to the town, moving there just before I

was born. But I liked seeing the names; they gave a sense of history.

I have a picture taken when I was 2 or 3, standing on the top level

of the monument. I don't remember when that was taken, but I do

remember sitting on the bottom ledge and tracing my fingers over the

spokes of the wagon wheel that was embedded in the cement. I just knew

that wagon wheel had come across the plains. I would think about that,

and the people who came here, and that was pretty much where I first

fell in love with pioneers.

Times changed. The LDS ward outgrew the old building and built a new

one. The old building went through various incarnations as reception