What's Good About St. Johns?

Recently I was asked to write an article for "It's a Wonderful Small-Town Life." My mind went back 15-20 years ago, when I wrote my one and only letter to the editor in our local newspaper. After searching for what seemed like an eternity, I finally found a copy and here it is.

What's Good About St. Johns?

 

We continue to see our population dwindle. You hear people say, "We are going to sell out while we still can." Please don't! We need you here. Stop and think about why you moved here, and why you like living in St. Johns. The people are what make any town, and we have some of the very best right here. It is time to work together and make this a better place to live.

 

All my life I have heard stories of the people that made St. Johns ... People like Solomon Barth, E.I. Whiting, Ernie Wilbur and many more. Who is stepping up to take their places? We need to be less self-serving and learn that we need to give back - not just take. It is time to change our attitudes and be more positive and friendly.

 

As I stop and think of the people who have recently purchased or opened new businesses in town, I realize there are many people trying to make St. Johns a better place. People like Ruby Bride, Orville and Connie Harris, Joe Salazar, Hanzel Odom, Stacey Thornhill with her neat little shop on main street, and many others. We need to support these people and let them know we appreciate their efforts to make St. Johns a better place.

 

So what is good about St. Johns?

 

-Loving people that support each other in times of need.

-Strong church congregations of many faiths, trying to be better people.

-Families that still teach their children to work and to be responsible.

-Parents that still help with homework and support their children in their activities.

-Volunteers that still make this a unique place to live.

-Fiesta de San Juan Activities.

-Fourth of July pancake breakfasts, patriotic programs, free barbecues, foot races, and fireworks.

-Horse trial activities.

-24th of July activities.

-Apache County Fair and Horse Races.

-Halloween parades and carnivals.

-Living Christmas Tree programs.

-Great Christmas decorations.

-Rotary Basketball Tournaments.

-Easter Egg Hunts.

-Little League Coaches and Referees.

-People willing to serve on school boards and city councils.

-Lots of sunshine and clean air.

-Athletic and scholastic teams that continue to excel despite reduced numbers.

-People that still wave to each other on the street.

-Family Traditions that are carried on year after year.

-Boys turning into men in hay fields and branding corrals.

-Cheerleaders and fans standing on Grover's Hill to wish ball teams good luck.

-People who still stop to give you a ride when you're out walking for exercise.

-4-H Projects.

-Flags proudly displayed on homes and businesses on national holidays.

-Outdoor Dances.

-The smell of fresh cut alfalfa.

-Baccalaureate programs where all local church leaders give good counsel and advice to our senior class.

-Warm summer nights with friends, families, and neighbors visiting on front porches.

-Bingo on Thursday nights.

-Ripe corn and tomatoes given away on many doorsteps in August and September.

-Christmas carolers.

-Community and church service projects.

-Tractors on Main Street.

-People stopping and calling to check on a heifer who is calving to see if help is needed.

 

Can St. Johns continue to be called "The Town of Friendly Neighbors"? It can if we want it to be.

 

Larry Heap

St. Johns

 



Some of the names mentioned above have moved on, a few of the activities have ceased, but by and large our little St. Johns community continues to be the place that so many people love and long to be a part of.

 

To me our community offers a sense of peace and security, two attributes that seem to be lacking in much of the world today. I still believe that many people in this community possess great common sense and know how to get things done.

 

As we continue to stay true to our time-honored traditions, work together and pray together, we will continue to be "The Town of Friendly Neighbors" for many years to come.

 

By Larry Heap



Where Everybody Calls You Friend

My love for St. Johns started with a boy named Ryan Patterson.  My first trip to St. Johns was 16 years ago. It was February 1998, I was a sophomore in college, and had decided to go on a road trip with two friends.  I was headed to Mesa for a family reunion by way of St. Johns because Ryan wanted to be at his dad’s birthday.  We spent our one day in St. Johns 4-wheeling and shooting guns.  Our day ended with dinner and birthday cake around Catherine’s dinner table.  I will never forget that first experience around her table.  I remember everyone talking and laughing and visiting with each other.  There was an easiness in the way they were together.  I had never experienced anything quite like it.

My next trip to St. Johns was just a month later with Ryan for his Grandma Greer’s funeral.  There were so many people there, and they all knew each other very well.  Watching the people in this town interact under the circumstances of a funeral was something to behold.  Everyone I met was so warm and friendly. It was strange and wonderful all at the same time. Now I realize this will sound corny but it’s the honest truth.  That day felt like I was living in that country song, “Everybody knows everybody.  Everybody calls you friend.”  It was unreal.  I didn’t know people in this world really lived like this.  I couldn’t get over how genuinely kind people were.  Not just to me, but to each other.  

Just over a year later I married that St. Johns' boy.  We lived in Mesa for the first 6 years of our marriage and came to St. Johns EVERY weekend we could get away from school and work.  We even celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary at El Camino.  We came to St. Johns so much I think Nick and Catherine thought something was wrong with us.  I can’t exactly tell you why we came to St. Johns so often.  I can say it just felt good to be here.

Maybe it was the way Ryan’s heart was lighter when we drove over Grover’s Hill.  Maybe it was the way Nick would tell stories, make you laugh, and make you feel welcome.  Maybe it was Catherine’s amazing homemade bread, green chili, or Christmas donuts.  Maybe it was the life lessons I picked up from just being around Ralph and Colleen Drain.  Maybe it was the awesome diehard Redskin fans I met at Adam and Kyle’s football and basketball games.  Maybe it’s the way the adults in this town put time, energy, and work into not only their kids but every kid within their reach.  Maybe it’s the way everyone waves at you as you drive through and around town.  Maybe it’s the many hands—old, young, and in between—that are tirelessly working to lift and help.  Maybe it’s the peace that sweeps over you at night when the whole town quiets down.

There is something special about this town and the people who live here, something amazing and wonderful.  I believe that “something” started with love, love that was brought here by the families that settled St. Johns, which love has continued to grow deep and strong.  The people here love God, love their families, love each other, love their country, and are not afraid to show it.  

I have been asked if moving to St. Johns was hard.  I have to admit that it was as easy as coming home.  I am grateful to this town and the people in it.  I am blessed to have married a St. Johns' boy.  I am humbled to be raising St. Johns' kids.  I love this town and the people in it.

By Monica Patterson

Thy thoughts shall be established...

My thoughts are not your thoughts....saith The Lord.  ...so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

I read a quote this week that I felt points us to higher thought in this world that continues to magnify materialism and promote focus on self! 

"Life is not a race - but indeed a journey.  Be Honest.  Work hard.  Be choosy.  Say "thank you", "I love you", and "great job" to someone each day.  Go to church, take time for prayer.  The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh.  Let your handshake mean more than pen and paper.  Love your life and what you've been given, it is not accidental - search for your purpose and do it as best you can.  Dreaming does matter. It allows you to become that which you aspire to be.  Laugh often.  Appreciate the little things in life and enjoy them.  Some of the best things really are free.  Do not worry, less wrinkles are more becoming.  Forgive, it frees the soul.  Take time for yourself - plan for longevity.  Recognize the special people you've been blessed to know.  Live for today, enjoy the moment."   Bonnie Mohn

I just want to testify that the mind is powerful.  It is a blessing to be able to create thought.  It is crucial that we keep our minds pure; they are what help us create the lives we want to live.  I hope that by reading this inspired quote we will all be able to accomplish all of these suggestions as we turn our thoughts to action.  I know that as we do this we will create happy lives not only for ourselves but for others.  All action is the result of thought.  "As a man thinketh so is he."  It is my hope and prayer that we will all have positive thoughts and live positive lives.  And when life throws us a curve ball and frustration, always remember happiness is a choice that starts with a thought!  Gods thoughts are higher thoughts than ours, if we have faith and trust in Him, He will inspire our hearts and minds and through our choices we will become more like Him.

I want to share a quote by Elder Boyd K. Packer of the quorum of the twelve apostles, "Probably the greatest challenge to people of any age, particularly young people, and the most difficult thing you will face in mortal life is to learn to control your thoughts...One who can control his thoughts has conquered himself.  I have come to know that thoughts, like water, will stay on course if we make a place for them to go. Otherwise our thoughts follow the course of least resistance, always seeking lower levels."

Each thought we create is a seed that will bear fruit sooner or later.  Create wisely!

By Chris Nielsen

Helping Hand

Growing up, I had the opportunity to work for the City of St. Johns for two years. On the side of the city vehicles it reads, "Town of Friendly Neighbors," Never did that message ring more true to me than during my senior year, a year that I’ll never forget.

In January of 2003 my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. What happened next was nothing short of amazing from this “Town of Friendly Neighbors.” Before I had even heard the news of the diagnosis, I heard our doorbell ring. Much to my surprise, someone was dropping off food for my younger sister, brother, and me. And, for the rest of my senior year, that doorbell never stopped ringing. People came from every direction with food, support, and a helping hand. For several months, it was just the three of us at home during the week while my mother cared for my father in the Valley. During that entire time, there wasn’t a day that went by that we didn’t have a warm meal to come home to. It still gives me chills just thinking about it! I’ve never seen such generosity before. And at the hospital, my father’s room was always filled with letters of encouragement and support, words that meant so much to my father and our family.

A few days after he was hospitalized I had an away basketball game. The roads were slick that night, so the team slept over in Flagstaff. The next morning, on our drive home, I thought it was interesting that we hadn’t stopped for food or that no one was eating. I remember leaning over to ask a teammate, and he smiled and told me that the St. Johns Stake and others were fasting for my father. My simple response to that is, “That’s St. Johns for you.” That’s the kind of people that we have here, selfless individuals constantly looking out for their neighbors. I will forever be grateful to the people of St. Johns for what they did for my family that year. We hear of courageous and aspiring people in the news and across the world. And yet, right here, the small town of St. Johns is full of them.

You often wonder why? Why go out of your way like this. My younger brother, sister, and I were old enough to cook and take care of ourselves. Then why did people come with a helping hand? I feel this next part answers that.

J Golden Kimball, a general authority, speaking of this people of St. Johns, said in a central conference address given in Salt Lake City, “I would like to take you on a trip down to Arizona in the St. Johns country. I preached faith there once but I want to tell you I haven’t enough faith to stay in such an undesirable country. You talk about good people, you talk about righteous people, I can tell you there are people in this city who are not worthy to unlatch their shoestrings. That hard country, and their obedience to God, has made those men of great characters. You can’t discourage them…that is their home; that is their country; there they worship God."

I’m proud to have grown up in St. Johns. I’m privileged to be among such a God-like people. It truly is a “Town of Friendly Neighbors.”

By Adam Patterson

An Unbroken Loyalty

I had an experience this weekend that I think bears repeating. It is a great example of something that I think is common in St. Johns.

In the shop at my home, there is a 1981 Isuzu pup, diesel pickup with a flatbed that is up on jacks.  The half shaft on the passenger side is shot.  When I started the project, I had no idea that finding a replacement part would be impossible.  I scoured the internet for three days, and found nothing.  My only option was to have the part rebuilt.  At the time I wasn’t even sure it could be rebuilt…

Here is where the St. Johns connection enters the story.  Lon Dimbatt, a St.Johns native, took the part and successfully had it rebuilt.  Lon has a shop in the valley.  On Saturday, Lon hand delivered the repaired half shaft to my home here in town.  When I tried to pay Lon for the trip, he wouldn’t accept payment.  I’d like to think that this incredible service was because Lon has some special regard for me and my family.  I am sure though, that Lon would provide that kind of service to anyone in town. That’s just how he is. I am grateful for his kindness!

There is a loyalty forged in this town that I haven’t recognized anywhere else.  I’m not sure where this comes from, but I believe that it is because our town emphasizes being good neighbors. That mentality has existed since the very first people settled here, and is now in the DNA of those who live and were raised here!  We seem to be sincerely interested in our neighbors, and that translates to serving them, whether on their farms and ranches, or in their homes and businesses.  Service spawns loyalty, and a sincere desire to help our neighbors.  Certainly we serve during the mundane day to day needs, and especially when there is a serious need!

Because of the relationships that are born out of serving each other here in St. Johns, people are always quick to point out their connections to our town! Have you ever gone anywhere and not met someone who knows someone from St. Johns?  Yesterday, in a talk given during the dedication of the Gilbert LDS temple, Tad R. Callister, a General Authority in the LDS church (not from Arizona) referenced his Mother in Law, stating that she was from St. Johns, Arizona.  On the surface that and other references to our town might seem ironic. I don’t think they are.  I think that in a community like ours where serving our neighbors is second nature, St. Johns will always be viewed by those inside and out as a very special community with very special people!

By Jeff Raban

GET BACK HOME!

"Get back.  Get back. Get back to where you once belonged!  Get back home..." These lyrics blared from my stereo the other day as I busily cleaned my kitchen.  As I caught myself singing along, my thoughts began to wander internally… the song mentions two characters that have left home for different reasons, and have found that sometimes the world tempts us to leave a place of security with promise of great things,  but doesn't always deliver!  Immediately my thoughts turned to my sixth graders at school and I began to think about their plights to fit in with friends, or find someone to listen to them, find a place to belong.  Social circles are an interesting breed, and you can't force true friendship or belonging, but one thing I have seen is that if someone is looking, there are friends out there that can make you feel like you belong.  I witness everyday and am a true believer that all anyone in this life really needs is to belong!  We all have an inherent need to love and be loved by someone.  So it becomes ever important that we open our hearts to find, or be those that make us feel at home. This of course led me to think about the circles to which I have "belonged" over the years.

One such circle would be my family. I was so lucky to grow up her in St. Johns. I grew up with 4 brothers and a sister.  I am grateful for the best friends I found in the early years of my life. We lived in a modest home that didn't always give each of us the room we thought we needed, but I wouldn't trade the memories for anything. Yes we fought and teased, but I always knew I had a place at home.  My mom had created in our family room, a book cupboard.  It was filled with so many cool titles. I can remember pulling out a stack of books that I planned to read during my mom's instituted "quiet time".  I remember how calm and settled I always felt in that room as I laid on my belly by the big window and read and read away many Sunday afternoons.  That was another "sense of belonging" I recall.  These friends in the cupboards could cheer me up any day.  I still feel a warmth come over me and can picture vividly several of my favorite books.

Another place felt I belonged was my neighborhood.  Such awesome neighbors I had.  Ken Raban lived straight across the street from me.  Often he would beckon my sister and I over to his door and offer us a choice of treat from his BRACHS candy bag.  He would tell us stories and jokes and always let us walk up and down his cool fence(every now and again I have the urge to stop there and see if I can still make it up and down it!)  Mrs. Anna Herring, another dear neighbor, would spend spring and summers working in her flowers and would always stop her work to visit with me whenever I ventured across the street to her house.  She had been my kindergarten teacher and I loved her with all my heart because she had always shown me kindness and took time to listen to a small girl.  Murray Patterson lived across from our house as well for several years.  We would go over and play with his son.  He had a cool swing in his back yard and would push any of us neighbor kids in it.  We would squeal with delight as he pushed us so high(He lives in a different house today, but still has a cool swing that I see many kids have access to).  Another neighbor was Marja Hansen, who was my music teacher in school.  She has one of the loudest voices I have ever heard, both singing and yelling.  Her daughter Phyllis would play with us in the neighborhood and always bring us cookies that her mom had baked.  We would play in their yard, sometimes for hours.  Tag, or a game we called "Statues" and hide-n-seek were some of our favorites. The kids in our neighborhood would often play in our field out back, with all my dad's cool tools (I'm sure he loved that!)  or in our tree house-correction- two story tree house in our back yard!  It was awesome!  Many times we'd play in our sand box, or even in the street and ride our bikes around the block. Fun times! BUT...At dusk, no matter where we were in the neighborhood, we'd know it was time to go home when we heard Mrs. Hansen's voice bellow through the street, "Phyllis, come home!"  It was sort of like our neighborhood signal, like the "Batman signal" but in voice, alerting us that we needed to get back home before dark.  I felt so safe in that little neighborhood.

Such great memories I have of places I once "belonged".  Some people say you can never go back and maybe its true.  But I believe you can show honor to those people, places and circles by going forward to create similar environments.  Places and groups that can make our kids and grandkids feel like they belong somewhere. So get inspired!  Make a book cupboard, pump up your bike tires for a ride, teach someone about your garden, share a treat!  Just find a way to "get back to where you once belonged"; It will do your heart some good, and will make you and this wonderful town in which we live, nothing but happy!

Kirstin Udall

Change...

Recently, the bank branch in St. Johns closed. It was an unsettling event for most people. I am not qualified to discuss the economic impacts that an event like that will have on our town, but I think I am qualified to discuss how resilient the town is and why at the end of the day, in my opinion our town will keep on moving along, without skipping a beat, just as it has for more than a hundred years.

To someone unfamiliar with the town, a quick look at a map of the area might indicate that geographically, St. Johns isn’t on the way to anywhere!   There are more efficient and aesthetically pleasing ways to travel in just about any direction, than to venture through St.Johns!  There are no interstates to shuttle the masses, no metropolitan attractions to drive commerce, and no obvious natural draws to speak of…

To those who call our town home now, or who have ever called our town home, nothing could be further from the truth.  Our secret is that we believe St. Johns is on the way to everywhere,in fact, it may even sit right in the middle of the universe!  So to adequately understand how this little, unassuming community will carry on despite the loss of the bank, I’ll ask you to consider a few things that I believe form the underpinnings of this community.

First, consider those who you know that have left our little town to defend our nation and returned. From the Great War all the way through to the current conflict we are engaged in.  Consider those who left and did not return. Their sacrifice was complete.By virtue of the sacrifices of those men and women, the bar of expectation and greatness was set high for the rest of us to aspire to.  

Next, consider the farmers and ranchers who for generations have survived year to year in a place where water is scarce and conditions are often less than favorable for cattle and crops. Their toughness and grit are what brought, and continue to bring them and their families back season after season to face the uncertainty and make a go of it.

Finally, consider the teachers in our schools who also, for generations have prepared the youth of this town to rise to the highest levels in society. They prepared us and expected us to go out into the world and not be a drain on society; they expect us to contribute in whatever capacity we can aspire to.  Our schools have contributed significantly to the highest levels of state and federal government, to global industry, religion and the arts. Our teachers showed us that it is better to be part of something bigger than ourselves, and that we can always do hard things.

So, the bank left…  It wasn’t the first business to go, and it probably won’t be the last! As sure as they go, more will come.  In St. Johns, that really isn’t what matters anyway.  The town’s strength is its people; Industrious, hardworking people who have always found, and will continue to find ways to survive and adapt and keep moving forward.

Doug Patterson