A few days before the 4th of July, I was visiting with Reyn Bleumel on our way to an
Eagle Court ceremony. I mentioned that I had a big fiat-bed trailer that my family often
used to make a float for the 4th of July parade in our little community of Granite. Reyn
immediately picked up on this and said he was installing a trailer hitch on Col. Paul
Madsen's jeep. "Wouldn't it be nice to pull a "Mormon Battalion" float in
the parade?" A day or so later, Reyn called and said the jeep was ready. I couldn't
let him down, so I called Paul (Madsen) with my idea. By 10: o'clock, Paul had a crew
there: Don Schurtz, Ed Bitton, Bill Smith, Terry Wirth, Paul, and myself--a formidable
force!--had constructed a respectable float for the parade. We had the help of Paul 's
daughter with the calligraphy on the sides, and my wife, Rosemary, balancing our ideas.
Isn't it amazing what happens when an idea collides with a spark of enthusiasm, and a
catalyst brings it all together to complete the project!.