Mary Galanis Mavrakis

Sun Advocate - Thursday, February 13, 1941

Mrs. Mary Mavrakis, 42, of Columbia, died this morning at 5:00 a.m. after a heart attack.

Mrs. Mavrakis was born in Varnos, Crete, Greece, in 1899, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Petro Galanis of Vamos, Greece. She came to the United States in 1915 making her home in Denver until 1929 when she moved to Columbia. She had lived there since.

Mrs. Mavrakis had been an active member of the Arcadi club of Carbon County. At the time of her death she was the president of the Women's Pan-Cretan organization.

She is survived by her husband, Nick Mavrakis, and the four children.

Also surviving her are her mother, one sister, two brothers and one grandson living in Salt Lake City.

Louis Kouross (Kavros)

News Advocate - August 21, 1930 pg 1

Injuries Fatal to Coal Mine

Crushed between two coal cars while working in the New Peerless Mine in Price Canyon, Louis Kauross, 35, suffered injuries which resulted in his death at the Rolapp hospital Tuesday evening. According to Dr. William Merrell, Kauross sustained several fractured ribs, internal injuries and sever bruises.

He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Mary Kauross and one daughter, Katherine, 4. He was born in Greece, September 12, 1893 the son of Mr. and Mrs. Manue Kauross. No funeral arrangements have been made. Remains are at the J. E. Flynn funeral parlor.

Harry Blackwell - 1909 - 1995

From Salt Lake we moved to the town of Storrs, later known as Spring Canyon in Carbon County. It was established about 1911 or 1912. Over the mine portal where there was a cement entrance, it said 1912. The people who first moved into that region lived in tents. They built the tents up maybe about 4 or 4 1/2 feet to 5 feet on the sides with lumber. Then they covered it with canvas. That's the way they lived until they could get the rock houses which were later built.

Jessie Knight was the founder of the mining camp. He had come across the plains with his mother and dad and he wasn't too active in the Church. In fact, he may have been a little bit the other way. He had a daughter that he loved very much and she became very sick. They were afraid that she was going to die and he was so upset that he promised the Lord that if He would save her that he would do an about face. She became well and later became Mrs. Mangum and she and her husband lived on 4th East and Center Street in Provo. She lived to be quite an elderly lady. Jessie Knight wouldn't allow any saloons or drinking in the camp. If anyone was found involved in such he was asked to move out.

Before Jessie Knight came, the mine was a wagon mine and some men from Helper used to go up to the area with their wagons and get coal out from their homes and haul it down to Helper. Jessie Knight bought the mine from a man in that area, I heard he gave him $100 for it. He assigned a man from American Fork named Mr. Storrs to run the camp. Jessie shipped the coal down to Helper on the D&RG Railroad. He thought that they were charging him too much freight and he couldn't get them to reduce the rates so he started to build a tunnel at Spanish Fork Canyon and another at Thistle to build his own railroad. When the D&RG saw that he was serious they reduced their rates. The railroad into that area from Colorado to Salt Lake was completed in 1883. It is said that Jessie Knight built 65 rock homes, although I only remember about 42. Now all the buildings are gone and the town no longer exisits as the coal veins gave out.

We went as a family into Storrs in the Fall of 1914 or the summer of 1915. My younger sister, Nelly, was born November 3rd, 1915 in this town. There was quite a bit of work for men, but they lacked housing. My folks knew the Sam Faddis family in that area and they were kind enough to provide living quarters in their home until we could obtain a house. We later got a two room house in the same general area as the Faddis home, just below it if I remember. This is where I lived when I started school on the stage of the LDS Church. It was a rock structure and I was also baptized there at a later time wearing a pair of overalls at the age of 9. I met some very good people and I grew up with kids of all nationalities. We had up there, I suspect, about every nationality there was. I remember a friend whose name was Carlo Prepaireo and we were in the first or second grade. We were just like bosom pals all the time, riding sleds and whatever together. We had a fine association.

The town was, I guess you might say, in about four parts. We had the main part of town where the rock houses were which had ready access to the store and the Post Office and the boarding house. Across the creek was Tent Town. When the tents became worn out and undesirable for dwelling, the company put frame homes in their places, so it eventually became not Tent Town anymore, but just the other part of town.

Up the canyon about a mile was Greek Town. The people who lived there, were not all Greek by any means. There were some Japanese, some Italians, etc. There was also an area called "Down Around the Bend" where there were several frame homes and apartment houses plus a few tents. We had quite a community, 1,000 people at one time. At first, we had no schoolhouse and we met in the church. Later on, the county built a red brick school and I attended there. Just below the school there was a bakery and as time went on, there were some tin garages built just across the creek.

There were three homes of rock close to the tipple. That's where coal was sorted by size as it went into the railroad cars. The tipple employed several men, 25 to 40 approximately. We also had a powerhouse which later became a blacksmith's shop. The power house blew up at one time, and it killed one or two men, a sad situation, but those things did happen. It seemed to me that we had a lot of accidents as I was growing up. Things were rather crude and people took many chances.

In order to help with such contingencies, Dad belonged to the Oddfellows, a fraternal organization established other places that found its way into coal camps. I remember very distinctly one day looking around the room in school and seeing five families represented and their dads had broken arms or broken legs or chest injuries and they would be laid up a month or so and couldn't work. The men banded together to help each other over the rough spots. One time Dad was in Holy Cross Hospital in Salt lake City after a horse fell on him and broke his pelvis. Nellie and Beth were in the house with me and there wasn't a thing in the house to eat. I looked out the window, out onto the porch, and there was an orange crate with food in it. This sort of thing happened two or three different times and we suspected that the Oddfellows Lodge provided for us. Dad was a union man and sold memberships in the United Mine Workers. John L. Lewis was President of it. Dad was convinced that men should have rights and be protected in their work place. He was very strong in his opinion, and it seemed that after the strike he had dickens of a time getting a job because he was what they called "blacklisted".

David Bonvicin

David Bonvicin, 72, former resident of Price died Jan 3, 1975, after a short illness in Hayward, Calif hospital.

Born Sunnyside, Carbon Co., July 9, 1902 to Virgino and Jennie Cereghino Bonvicin. Married Angeline Nick Oct 12, 1932, Price. Member Catholic Church. Retired coal miner.

Survivors wife, Hayward, son, daughter, 6 grandchildren, and sister.

Funeral Mass Wednesday, 10 a.m. Notre Dame de Lourdes Church, Price Rosary Tuesday 7 a.m. Mitchell Funeral Chapel while friends call Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday prior to services.

Burial Price Cemetery.

Frank Walton Henderson

Final rites for Walton Henderson, 18, a member of the rescue crew which met death in the Standardville mine, were held from the Methodist Church in Price at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday with interment taking place in the Price cemetery under direction of J.E. Flynn Funeral Parlors. He was born in Alabama, December 1, 1912, the son of Calvin and Louise Stanley Henderson of Tennessee. He is survived by his father, one brother, Milton and two sisters, Mary and Louise.

Nettie Stewart McGill

MAGNA - Nettie Stewart McGill, 89 (?), 3048 South 8950 West, died Dec. 14, 1978, in a Granger hospital.

Born Sept. 4, 1899, Scofield, Utah, to Richard and Margaret Hunter Stewart. Married Thomas McGill July 3, 1918, Farmington. Member of the Magna Baptist Church, Adah Chapter No. 19 Eastern Star.

Survivors: husband; son, four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; a sister, Mrs. Margaret Blair, Columbia, MO.

A daughter, Georgia, preceded her in death.

Funeral services Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Peel Funeral Home, 8525 W. 2700 South, Magna where friends may call Saturday, 11:30 a.m., until time of service. Burial, Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Thomas McGill

MAGNA - Thomas McGill, 87, 3048 S. 8950 West, died Feb 13, 1979, in a Salt Lake hospital.

Born Oct 3 or 8,1891, Leith, Scotland, to James and Mary Randall McGill. Married Nettie Stewart July 8 1918, in Farmington. She died Dec. 14, 1978. Retired painter at Ken Copper Corp. Past master of Christopher Diehi Lodge 19, F&AM. Member of El Kalah Shrine of the Scottish Rite. Member Magna Baptist Church.

Survivors: son, four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

Funeral services Thursday, 1 p.m. at the Peel Funeral Home, 8525 W. 2700 South, Magna, where friends may call Wednesday, 6-8 p.m., and Thursday 1/2 hour prior to services. Interment, Salt Lake City Cemetery.

COAL MINING IN MY FAMILY

By: Jason Zaccaria
March 1988
Information from my Grandma Helen Costello

Both sets of my Great-grandparents on my mother’s side were from Yogoslavia before coming to the United States in the early 1900’s. They came to America seeking labor work in the coal mines and began at Clear Creek Coal Camp in Utah. They had no education and worked very hard under extremely poor conditions with little money or benefits. When they were laid-off they would move to different coal camps. Some families would live in tents as they moved from camp to camp.

My Great-grandparents Frank and Rosie Kastelic lived with my Great-grandparents George and Matilda Sluga until they were able to be on their own, as many families did during that time. Little did they know that someday their two children Helen Sluga and John (Kastelic) Costello would marry and have three daughters. Their second daughter Judy Zaccaria is my mother.

Some of the miners would have their young sons help support the family by working in the mines. They were such young boys that their lunch buckets would drag on the ground. They had horses to pull the coal out of the mine. The camp bosses were more concerned about a horse getting killed in the mines than a coal miner, because they were so valuable. They used canaries to detect deadly gasses in the mine. If a canary died they knew it was not safe for the miners to enter the mine.

When my Grandpa and his three brothers were in school, the oldest brother Frank decided to change the family name of “Kastelic” to “Costello” because the teachers couldn’t pronounce Kastelic.

My Great-grandpa Frank Kastelic died in the nationwide 1918 flu epidemic. My great-grandma was so ill herself she couldn’t even attend his funeral. He left four young sons - Frank, Tony, Stanley and John. My Grandpa John was only one year old when his father died. Later my Great-grandma Rose Kastelic married Frank Zele who was a very stern and mean stepfather. He made my Grandpa John quit school in the 8th grade to work on the family farm. The principal even tried to convince him to let my Grandpa continue his education because he was very smart, but his stepfather said “no”. Despite his lack of education, he accomplished more in his lifetime than many men.

When my Grandpa Costello was 17 years old he went to work in the coal mines. He worked very hard all his life, under some very difficult conditions. Once he worked in such low coal he had to work on his hands and knees for eight or more hours at a time. Some of the miners even worked lying on their backs.

However, coal mining took a big toll on my Grandpa and his health. In 1965 he lost the index finger on his right hand when someone turned on a conveyor belt and his hand was drawn up into the machinery. He also developed “Black Lung” from breathing the black and dusty air in the mines over the years. He had a benign tumor on one of his lungs that had to be removed. He also had three hip replacement surgeries.

Finally, in l972, when his body was tired and worn from 42 years of working in the mines, he retired. Grandpa not only worked as a regular miner but he also was a Fire Boss. That meant going into the mine at 4:00 a.m. to inspect it for deadly methane gas before the miners began their shifts. After his retirement he was an instructor at the local college and taught mine safety classes. He was also very involved with the Retired Miners Association.

Unfortunately my Grandpa Costello died two years ago on February 12, 1986. He was a wonderful Grandpa and I shall always remember him and miss him.

My Great-grandpa George Sluga, Sr. died when he was 38 years old. He was killed in the Great Castle Gate Mine Explosion of March 8, 1924, along with 171 other miners. The sad part is that he was not even supposed to be inside the mine that day. He just happened to bring something into the mine when the explosion occurred. When he died he left my Great-grandma Matilda Sluga a widow with four children - Tillie, George, Annie and Helen. My Grandma Helen was only 11 months old when he died. So both my grandparents lost their fathers when they were extremely young.

People in the town could see the smoke billowing from the mountain and rescue workers worked for days to remove the bodies from the mine. My Great-grandpa Sluga was the 72nd body brought out of the mine. He was found near one of the entrances.

My Great-grandma Sluga later married Tony Tonc, Sr. and they had three children - Tony, Jr., Pauline and Louie.

My mother Judy is from Helper, Utah. The town got it’s name because in order to get the coal out of the mountains they needed to add a “Helper” engine to the trains.

My Mom remembers well growing up a coal miner’s daughter. She and my aunts Jona and Barbara would complain about having to wash Grandpa’s lunch bucket. Grandma would remind them that soon the mines would be laying off men and there would be no bucket to wash.

Grandpa always saved them part of his lunch - whether it was a cookie, piece of licorice candy or Black Jack Gum that he chewed. They would listen nightly to the radio for the mine report to see which mines were working the following day.

Once in a while Grandpa would take my mom and her sisters to the mine. They would go to the Bath House and only once rode a coal car into the mine. It was much too dark, damp and scary in there so they never wanted to go back.

Labor Day was always a fun time. All the different locals would have booths set up at one of the local parks and give free pop, candy, ice cream, etc. to families of those locals all day long.

My mom said there never was a lot of money, but they never had to go without. What they lacked in money, they more than made up in riches of love and family life. Grandpa once told her some years he would only make about $2,000 or $3,000 for the whole year. They just made do with what they had. Grandpa planted a garden, he was a fisherman and a hunter and Grandma canned fruit and vegetables to get them through the winter months.

My Dad, Darryl Zaccaria grew up in Castle Gate, Utah. The mining town got that name because of a tall mountain that looked like a Castle Gate which would appear to open and close as you drove along the highway. Later he moved to Helper, Utah where he eventually met my Mom.

My Dad remembers his youth when his Step-father Rudy Zaccaria also worked in the mines. He worked on the Castle Gate Tipple, which is a transport station for the coal when it comes out of the mine. His job was to extract rock and impure coal that was mined.

My Dad especially recalls the big heavy steam engines that would chug and puff black smoke from their stacks as they took the coal up the canyons. Also, he remembers the white steam that would escape the sides of the engines. When the new diesel engines were used they seemed so modern.

My Dad remembers his step-father Rudy coming home from the mine after showering there and still having remains of coal dust in his eyes, ears and under his fingernails.

Dad said he and his brother Dean especially liked when Grandpa Zaccaria had to work the night shift or graveyard shift because they thought they could get away with more mischief at night.

Besides my Great-grandfathers and my Grandfathers working in the mines I have had several other relatives that made or make mining their way of life. My Mom’s Aunt Julia Sluga Zorn worked as a boney-picker for the mines during World War II. That meant she removed rock and other materials from the coal. My Aunt Jona Costello Gonzales is a mine Administration coordinator for seven departments at one of the mines in Carbon County. Uncle David Zaccaria is the President and owner of Tram Electric in Price, Utah. It is a company that repairs and rewinds mine motors. Uncle Bill Jewkes works for Utah Power and Light Company, which converts coal into energy. Second cousins Lynna Tonc Topelovic is a computer programmer for the mines. Her brother Louie Tonc is a mine safety engineer and mine monitor. I have also had several great uncles on both my Mom and Dad’s sides of the family that have worked in mining. My Great-grandfather Chris Hrienson also worked in the mines when he came here from Iceland.

Coal mining is not an easy way to make a living. The lives and hard work of the miners is expressed in at least two songs that have been sung about them - “A Coal Miner’s Daughter” by Loretta Lynn and “Big John” by Tennessee Ernie Ford. However, due to the United Mine Workers of America and the Federal Government, the conditions in the mines of today have changed for the better, and they continue to do so. The ventilation is much cleaner, the new ways to help support the roofs has greatly improved and better control of dust conditions are all major factors in helping to avoid Black Lund Disease and accidents.

I am very proud of my heritage. Of the struggles and hardships my Great-grandparents had to bear and overcome to live in this beautiful land. I admire the hard work and dedication of my Grandparents to provide a good life for their children, my parents. Also, to my parents for the love and care they have passed along to me in helping me realize who I am and where I come from.

Kirtland Cowan

WELLINGTON, Carbon County - Kirtland Cowan, 76, died Nov 16, 1977.

Born June 27, 1900, Elizabeth City, N.C., to William Walter and Emma Caroline Davenport Cowan. Married Lars Catherine Liddell Chantry, 1975. Member LDS Church.

Survivors: son, daughter, both of Indian Springs, Nev.; stepchildren; nine grandchildren; five great-grandchildren.

Funeral services Thursday, Wellington Second LDS Ward Chapel at 10 a.m. Friends may call at Fausett Mortuary, Price, Wednesday, 7-9 p.m. thursday, one hour before the services at the ward chapel. Buried, Tooele City Cemetery.

William Littlejohn

News-Advocate, Price, Utah
Nov. 30, 1916
Littlejohn Candidate

William Littlejohn, superintendent of the mines at Castle Gate, announces himself as a candidate from precinct No. 2 for a place on the county school board. The announcement reached the News-Advocate just a few minutes after we had gone to press last week. Precinct No. 2 comprises Cameron, Castle Gate, Helper, Storrs, Standardville and Rains.

Mr. Littlejohn was born in Scotland and completed the work of the public schools of that country. He later attended night school and has done much private studying which has brought to him a high degrees of scholarship. He has always taken a great interest in educational work. He has six children, five of whom are in school at Castle Gate and one in Carbon County high school. Mr. Littlejohn has been in Carbon County six years, having first taken the position of fire boss at Castle Gate and from that he has risen to his present place of superintendent. In this capacity he has always taken a deep interest in the children of the camp and in anything that will add to their safety and welfare. He is well acquainted with each part of his school precinct and knows what the schools need. If elected he can be counted on to give an impartial and judicious administration of the duties of the office.

(Precinct No. 2 - Castle Gate, helper, Storrs, Standardville - C.R. Jones over William Littlejohn.)

(From the local newspaper, date of death June 17, 1944)

Wm Littlejohn, Leader, Theatre Owner, Killed in Auto Crash; Masonic Funeral Planned Saturday

The Helper community was shocked Wednesday evening to hear of the sudden death of William Littlejohn, 69, who was killed instantly Wednesday at 5 p.m. when the car in which he was riding alone, skidded from the highway between Helper and Castle Gate. He was thrown from his car, which afterward rolled down onto the railroad tracks at Utah Junction. He suffered a broken neck and fractured skull.

Mr. Littlejohn, owner of the Helper Bonnie Theatre, had been in the theatre business for several years, having operated two theatres at Price, prior to moving to Helper about 1936, where he first operated the Strand Theatre, later building the present Bonnie establishment.

Mr. Littlejohn was general superintendent for the Utah Fuel company until 1925, and was considered an authority in the coal industry. Since he left the coal mining business his advice had been sought many times in important coal problems.

He was born in Dreghorn, Ayrshire, Scotland, May 8, 1875, the oldest of 13 children, going to work in the mines at Scotland when 11 years old. He had resided in the United States for 40 years, first living in New Mexico, later coming to Carbon County. He was married to Mary Lindsay in Scotland. She died in Castle Gate in 1918. In 1921 Mr. Littlejohn married Elsie Haas Tanner, who died in 1942.

He was a past grand master of Price lodge, F&AM, also the most worshipful grand lodge of F&AM of the State of Utah, and a former member of the Helper Kiwanis club.

Surviving are three daughters, three sons, and two grandchildren.

Funeral services will be conducted Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Price Masonic Temple, under direction of Carbon Lodge No. 16. The eulogy will be given by Reverend George J. Weber of Salt Lake City.

(From the local newspaper, one week later)

Editorial Comments…..by the Editor

Helper was saddened and one of its families was severely shocked on June 14, just a week ago, when the news flashed throughout the city that William “Bill” Littlejohn had met with a tragic death as he was returning to his home here from Salt Lake City. His coupe suddenly left the highway near the Utah Railway crossing north of Helper, and crashed into the railway tracks below, killing him instantly.

With the sudden passing of “Bill” Littlejohn, as he was familiarly known to his closest friends, Helper and Carbon county lost a pioneer theatre owner and operator; the coal mining industry lost one of its most learned authorities on coal; the Masonic lodges in Utah lost one of its high potentates and the surviving children lost an affectionate and understanding father.

William Littlejohn was a builder and a creator. He builded that others might enjoy the relaxation of a good movie or a good stage show. He was a creator of beauty in the form of flowers, shrubs, lawns, trees and that which enhances a home and makes it alluring and pleasant to the eye. Besides his family and friends, “Bill” Littlejohn loved his flower beds and his shrubs best. It was here he found relaxation and pleasure.

Those who frequented the Bonnie Theatre will miss “Bill” Littlejohn’s friendly smile and his cheerie Scottish “Hello and Good-Night”. Hardly was there a day or evening that he was not found in the lobby or standing in front of the Bonnie, ready to greet those who came his way.

Helper, Carbon County, Utah and the nation is a better world for having had as one of its citizens, William “Bill” Littlejohn, who immigrated to America from his native Scotland nearly 40 years ago. Those who believe in a life after death, know that William Littlejohn is now enjoying the peace that comes with having lived a righteous life while on earth.

John Webster Littlejohn

Funeral services for John Webster Littlejohn, 58, mine foreman for the United States Fuel company mine at Hiawatha who died last week in a Salt Lake City hospital, were conducted Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in the Masonic temple at Price with Carbon lodge No. 16, F. & A. M., in charge.

Interment was in the Masonic cemetery at Price, where Mr. Littlejohn's wife lies buried. In charge of burial was the Mitchell Funeral home.

Mr. Littlejohn had been intimately connected with the coal mining industry in Carbon county for many years, having served as mine foreman at Standardville and Sunnyside and was an official for a time in Clear Creek.

Following are his survivors: Sons, daughters, brothers and three sisters in Scotland.

Mary Lindsay Littlejohn

News Advocate - 21 Aug 1919
Mrs. Littlejohn Goes to Beyond

Rev. P. A. Simpkin has made a second trip from Santa Monica, where he has been spending a vacation, to Carbon County at the call of friends in one of the coal camps. Today he is present in Castle Gate to officiate at the funeral services over the remains of Mrs. William Littlejohn who passed away Monday evening. Services were held in the Amusement hall at 2 o'clock this afternoon. The Castle Gate choir rendered appropriate selections and the body was laid at rest in the Castle Gate cemetery, Mrs. Littlejohn making the request before she died that her remains lie close to the scenes of years of her activity.

Mrs. Mary Lindsay Littlejohn, after an illness dating from April 12th, passed away at her home at Castle Gate Monday afternoon, August 18th, 1919. Mrs. Littlejohn was operated on at St. Mark's Hospital in Salt Lake City on April 16th and since that time had been confined to her bed.

She was born at Dreghorn, Scotland, March 28, 1877. On February 3, 1899, she was married to William Littlejohn at Dreghorn, Scotland.

Mrs. Littlejohn emigrated to this country from Scotland, arriving at Castle Gate in June, 1911, where she joined her husband who had preceded her to this country.

Besides her husband, she is survived by two daughters, Janet and Jeanie, three sons, Alex, James and Robert, also by her mother, one sister and six brothers now residing in Scotland, and one brother, Hugh Lindsay, and one sister, Mrs. Robert Barr, who are residents of Clinton, Ind.

Mrs. Barr came from Indiana in June to be present at the sick bed of Mrs. Littlejohn, and has labored hard in trying to restore her sister's health.

Mrs. Littlejohn was very popular in social and other circles and had the distinction of being one of the hardest Red Cross workers in Carbon county. She was ever ready to set her hands in motion to knit socks, wristlets and mufflers for boys taking part in the world's great war; in fact, she always had their interests at heart.

She will not only be missed by her sorrowing husband, children and immediate relatives, but by the whole populace of Castle Gate and by her many friends of Carbon county and other parts of the state.

Anthe Vutetakis

In January 1977, I (Spyros Vutetakis) interviewed my Matera (mother), then age 77, in Canton, OH

Dimitris Vutetakis

BACKGROUND: In the early 1920's, we lived in Sunnyside, Utah, a coal mine town, where I was born in 1921. Dimitris, my Patera (father), born in Kefala, Crete, in March 1887, arrived in America on May 10, 1907 at the port of Boston. He then worked as a miner for about nine years, briefly at first in Canonsburg, PA, before going on to Sunnyside. He became an American citizen sometime in 1914 or 1915. On June 2, 1916, Patera became one of the operators of the Greek coffeehouse, the social center for the many single Greek miners. Then on November 5, 1917, he was inducted into the U.S. Army, where he served for nearly twenty months, including fourteen months in France. He was granted an overseas discharge in France, so he could go directly to Greece, where he stayed for several months. There he arranged to marry Anthe Stratigakis, born September 1899 in Plakoures, Crete.

The Stratigakis family was highly respected. Matera's father, Emmanuel, for example, had been a renowned Klefti (rebel) leader against the Turks during their occupation of Crete (he was famed as the 'Plakouriótis'). The successful 1896 Revolution against the Turks had its headquarters in the family home in Plakoures, on Akrotiri. Venizelos (later to become the George Washington of modern Greece) lived there during six months of the rebellion. In a very unusual step, Patera declined the customary dowry from the bride's family, so privileged did he feel in becoming a member of it. In March 1920 he returned with Anthe to America (through New York but not Ellis Island, as he was a citizen) and Utah. Unfortunately, Patera was never able to revisit Crete, while Matera finally did in 1971 and again in 1973, when there were joyous reunions and celebrations throughout our one month visits there!

The following are excerpts of the 26 page interview made by Spyros Vutetakis.

James & Anthe Vutetakis with children Spyros & Irene

Question: Do you remember your first impressions of Sunnyside?
"I came by train. I don't remember the first days... but I do remember about certain women" Metera chokes a bit and pauses with tears. "One was Galánena... the golden Galánena. She had two sons and one daughter, Foto (Fotini), whom they were trying to get Patera to marry before he left for the Army".

Galánena was so good... so good... She was like a mother to me.. and not just like a mother, she liked me very much too" .. tearful pause, then resuming... "And Foto was like a sister, we were friends... I think Galánena migrated as a married woman."

"She was always on hand when all three of my children were born... When I had Spyros I didn't even know how to pick up or hold a baby... The dear woman would come and help me... she would cook... She was like my mother"...

This appears to be the coffeehouse staff. Patera sits at far right. The two sitting next to him are his partners, Gogoléss and Alékos. Note their natty clothing and general mien, especially Alekos in his light suit. The two coffeehouse barbers. Mr. Alfiéris and Mr. Louros, are standing in the center. Behind Patera appears to be Mr. Logiákis, close friend of the Fricksons. The two on the left are presumably employees or friends.

The coffeehouse:
"The caffenio section belonged to three - Vutetakis, Vasilis Gogoléss, Alékos Kourtis" The company had built the building, probably charged rent"...

"Also koubaros Alfieris had his barbershop in it, and there was a billiard room, in addition to the large, very large caffenio section.... Alfieris and Kyriakos Louros rented the barbershop from the three others who had the billiard room and the caffenio... They played much billiards"...

I continue re coffeehouses... The coffeehouse was their only social life... "Right"... The men washed themselves and put on their Sunday suits to go there... "Right."... Being well-dressed was a sign of respectability... "Right... yep."... Everyone would go there.. "All of them." .... Laborers, small businessmen, labor agents, interpreters, Greek government officials, priests, gamblers, etc met there. "All of them."... I mention re Paters closing the caffenio when I was born.. "Yes, his heir was born - Spyros Vutetakis - so he closed it for the day... The customers didn't like it at all... they had nowhere to go all day... But he reopened it the next day."

"After the coffeehouse was burned down in 1922, Patera had to return to work in the mine." The coffeehouse burned in 1922, the year of the major strike...

How did the fire start?... "It was arson... A bucket was found there that had been used to start the fire... the reason had to do with the fact that the coffeehouse was prosperous... So, during the Carbon County strike of 1922, some Greek men hatched a plan. They would burn down the coffeehouse, and enter the mines as scabs.

"Then they planned to go to the Company management to say that because they had helped the Company break the strike, the Company should help them by building a new coffeehouse for them to manage." ..... The Company refused, saying there would not be another coffeehouse."

After a few days with Lourakis, Koubaro Alfieris took us in because it was a tight squeeze at Lourakis'... Alfieris provided us with a room. We stayed a while, until the Company rented us a nice little stone house, consisting of four rooms, at Patera's request. The rent was $10 a month."

"In return, the Company expected Patera to work in the mine. He had been unemployed since the fire. So he returned to the mine. The strike had been broken by then."

"He first worked outside the mine, around the 'elevator', as we called it". (It was the tipple.) "The carts, loaded with coal - the miners would be paid by the cartful - would be brought out of the mine and hauled high up the elevator and dumped... Then loaded onto trains. Though it was some distance, I could see the elevator clearly from the kitchen door.".

"I would watch Dimitri working there. I don't know how I recognized him - all the workers were completely black from the coal dust - but I did. Maybe it was the way he stood or walked, I'm not sure."

"Later he was transferred to working within the mine. That's where he was working when Castle Gate exploded. And that's when we decided to leave."

Eugene Wendell Smith

The Helper Journal
Thursday, November 16, 1950

Castle Gate Miner Succumbs to Mine Injuries

Funeral services for Eugene Wendell Smith, 34, of Castle Gate will be conducted Friday afternoon at 2:30 in the Castle Gate ward chapel, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with Bishop Fay Thacker officiating. Mr. Smith died Monday afternoon from injuries suffered in the Castle Gate No. 2 mine. He was working with a coal loading crew, when a large section of top coal fell, pinning him against the machinery. Co-workers Remo Ariotti of Helper, Bert Huff and Bob Reynolds of Castle Gate, rushed to his aid and carried him to a coal car and took him to the surface where he was rushed to the City-County hospital in Price, where he died shortly after. At first his injuries had been thought not serious, but on arrival at the hospital examination showed he had a severely crushed chest.

He was born April 20, 1916, at Christman, Ill., a son of Herman and Ruby Dailey Smith.

He married Luella Davies at Helper October 4, 1939. He had been a resident of Castle Gate for the past five years and was a member of Castle Gate local, UMW of A.

A world War II veteran, Smith held many army service decorations, including Normandy, North France, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe battle stars; European, African and Central Europe Service ribbons; a good conduct medal, a victory medal, a distinguished unit badge and a purple heart.

Surviving him are his widow; two daughters, one son, all of Castle Gate; his mother, two sisters, and a grandmother.

Price Post of the American Legion will conduct military rites at the graveside in the Price City cemetery. Friends may call at the Mitchell funeral home until Friday noon and at the chapel in Castle Gate from 1 p.m. to time of the services.

Victor T. Miller Jr.

Source of Information: FHL film 1421807 bk 41 pg 114

Dragerton, Carbon County - Victor T. Miller Jr., 34, Dragerton, died Sept. 9 at natural causes in a Provo hospital. Born Dec. 26, 1937, Grand Junction, Colo., to Victor and Moyme Cesario Miller. Member Catholic Church. Served Utah National Guard. Survivors: parents, Dragerton: brothers, both Dragerton; sister, Holland. Funeral Thursday 1 p.m., Mitchell Funeral Chapel, Price, where friends call Thursday prior to services. Burial Price City Cemetery.

News Advocate - 27 Mar 1930

MINER KILLED BY FALL FROM BRIDGE

Body Found Partially Lying in Stream: Jury Says Death Accidental

John Felipsich, 47, who was found dead Friday morning shortly after 7 o'clock by the engine crew of the D. & G. G. W. lying beneath a bridge at Castle Gate, met his death by accident, a coroner's jury decided. Evidence presented at the inquest showed that Felipsich was returning to Castle Gate by way of the railroad tracks and fell through an opening in the bridge. In falling, he apparently struck his head against the iron framework and landed with the upper part of his body in the Willow Creek, a stream running under the trellus. Two causes of death, a fractured skull and drowning were announced by Dr. E. V. Long.

Warren Peacock and L. A. Pike deputies from the Carbon sheriffs office and John Daskalakis, Castle Gate marshall investigated. W. G. Harmon, Carbon county attorney conducted the inquest, which was presided over by Judge J. W. Nielsen, justice of the peace. Victor Gilbert, John Hreinson and William Craig composed the panel.

Felipsich was generally know by the name of Filip or Phillips. He was employed at Rolapp, but resided at Castle Gate. He came to Carbon county about seven months ago from Colorado, where he is believed to hold some property. From information on hand in the Castle Gate mine office he has a wife and three children living in Tristi, Italy. He was born in Jugo Slavia of Austrian parentage.

Katherine Elizabeth Loftis

Mrs. Katherine Elizabeth Loftis, 72, former resident of Price and Kenilworth, died in a Salt Lake City hospital Tuesday night following a long illness. She was the widow of Lee L. Loftis, well know resident of Carbon county for man years.

Mrs. Loftis was born in Lawrence, Kansas, on October 19, 1864, a daughter of David N. Reed and Amanda Reed. With her husband, who was a contractor, she moved to Carbon county in 1906. She had lived in Salt Lake City for the past seven years.

Surviving are two sons, Robert Reed Loftis of Salt lake, and John Howard Loftis. Vernal, and six grand-children.