Midway, UT

THE SPICY LADY- HEBER CITY, UTAH

LIVE DINNER MUSIC IN NOVEMBER!

Spicy Lady- 4 times Grammy nominee Richard Souther Jazz Piano.

Fridays, Saturdays 7:30p.m.

Located: 139 N Main Street, Heber City, Utah

(435) 654-4288 www.SpicyLady.net

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14TH ANNUAL- HEBER CITY'S COWBOY POETRY GATHERING & BUCKAROO FAIR!

NOVEMBER 4TH- 9TH

Nine main Cowboy Poetry Shows and many other events.

Info/ tickets at www.HeberCityCowboyPoetry.com

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TIMPANOGOS VALLEY THEATRE'S "OKLAHOMA"!

NOVEMBER 6TH-8TH, 13TH-15TH TIME: 7:00 P.M.

Presented at: Midway Town Hall- 104 W Main Street, Midway, Utah

Don't miss this classic production put on by the Timpanogos Valley Theater, at the Midway Town Hall. Tickets are available at Day's Market 435-654-2352. Adults $12, and children $8, 435-654-6406, www.TVtheater.org

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NOVEMBER 7TH- Couples' Date Night with River Meadows Ballet. Bring your partner for a night of Ballroom dancing. Call 435-654-2829 for more info and to reserve your spot!

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NOVEMBER 7TH, 14TH, 23RD- Ballroom Dance Class at Wasatch Dance Center. First class is FREE! Call 435-657-2455 for reservations.

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HEBER VALLEY RAILROADS- POLAR EXPRESS!

Polar Express Christmas Train

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NOVEMBER 29TH- 30TH- Messiah Sing-In, 7:00p.m. by Timpanogos Valley Orchestra and Chorus. All in vited! November 29th at UVU Wasatch Campus; November 30th at LDS Church 550 E. 500 N. Heber City. (Call 435-785-8219 to participate in orchestra or back-up chorus)

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UPCOMING EVENTS:

MIDWAY FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS- "A CHRISTMAS CAROL"

DECEMBER 12TH, 13TH, 18TH, 19TH, 20TH, & 22CD-A Christmas Carol, the Musical"

Tickets available starting November 1rst- Info and tickets at www.MidwayArts.org and Day's Market. Dinner Show/ Fundraiser- December 18th, sells out early. Don't miss this Christmas experience!

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OTHER CHRISTMAS EVENTS:

A Small Town Christmas Comes to Midway and Heber

Don't miss the Christmas cheer surrounding Midway and Heber City's Small Town Christmas events. From Midway's Swiss Christmas, interfaith Creche Exhibit, and Cottages for the Children Gingerbread Display and Auction, to the family-friendy ride on the Polar Express. Ebeneezer Scrooge and "A Christmas Carol" is the final event of A Small Town Christmas. Don't miss it!

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HOPE TO SEE YA ALL AT THESE EVENTS! BE HAPPY- BE SAFE- BE BLESSED!

YOUR FRIEND, GENEIE MCINTOSH

YOU ARE INVITED! COME ONE COME ALL TO MIDWAY SWISS DAYS- AUG. 29TH- 30TH

IN THE BEAUTIFUL SWISS VILLAGE OF MIDWAY, UTAH!

HISTORICAL TOWN SQUARE- 200 W MAIN STREET MIDWAY, UTAH

FOOD, FUN, ARTS & CRAFTS, ENTERTAINMENT! BOOTHS OPEN 8AM-8PM

WATCH FOR ME-GENIE MCINTOSH- YOUR FAVORITE REALTOR AND THE EXIT HUMMER IN THE MIDWAY SWISS DAYS PARADE AUG. 30TH!

THE PARADE STARTS AT 10:00AM/ 200 EAST MAIN STREET

HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE!

LIVING IN & LOVING MIDWAY:

My First Trip to Midway:

I was just a young girl when my mother took our family on a weekend trip to Midway. She took us to the Homestead Resort; this was a real treat for us kids. We loved swimming in the big heated pool and my mom loved relaxing in the hot pool. I remember thinking; this would be heaven to be able to live in a place like this...

Homestead Resort

My Next Trip 8 years later:

When I was first married and going on one of our first trips camping and fishing, we stayed at the Wasatch Mountain State Park because there were no camping spots available at Deer Creek State Park. It was secluded and just 15 minutes away from Deer Creek. While there we drove around the small Swiss Mountain Village of Midway, that's when we first fell in love with this wonderful place and dreamed of living here someday!

Wasatch Mountain State Park Visitor Center

Every year after that we would always make a point to drive through Heber City and Midway on our way to Strawberry or Deer Creek State Park to go fishing and camping. Many years later we would take our children to the Jordanelle State Park when it opened to go camping and water skiing.

In August of 2003 we decided it was time to find a building lot for our Dream Home, that's when the Good Lord blessed us with our land on River Road- just west of Memorial Hill. We would go there each weekend to work on our lot for our new home. I remember staying there in our motor home on the Fourth of July and watching the fireworks on Memorial Hill. I felt like they were just for us. At first I was worried we would not fit in with the people of Midway, but they welcomed us with open arms. And since moving here we have never felt so much a part of a community as we do here.

Memorial Hill Our Home on River Road

JUST SOME OF THE FUN AND EXCITING THINGS YOU SHOULD DO AND SEE IN AND NEAR OUR

BEAUTIFUL SWISS MOUNTAIN VILLAGE OF MIDWAY:

CAMPING AND FISHING-

Wasatch Mountain State Park

Deer Creek Reservoir & State Park

Strawberry Reservoir & State Park

Jordanelle Reservoir & State Park

Provo River

GOLFING AND SKIING-

The Homestead Golf Course

Wasatch State Park Golf Course

Soldier Hollow Golf Course and Cross Country Skiing

Park City Ski Resorts

Sundance & Deer Valley Ski Resorts

ICE SKATING AND CITY PARKS-

Winter-Outdoor Ice Skating Rink & City Parks

WINTER SNOW TUBING OR TAKE A TRAIN RIDE-

Snow Tubing at Soldier Hollow Heber Valley Rail Road

BIKE RIDING RENTALS AND TRAILS-

FOR LODGING AND DINING - I RECOMMEND:

The Homestead The Blue Boar Inn Johnson's Mill

The Invited Inn The Zermatt Resort Mountain House Grill

FOR LOCAL ARTISTS AND ART GALLERIES TRY-

Edelweiss Art Gallery Robert Duncan Art Studio

BROWSE OUR ANTIQUE SHOPS AND HOME DECOR SHOPS-

Antique Shop Midway Mercantile All That Stuff In The Barn

Home Décor Shops

STOP IN OUR LOCAL BAKERY AND SWEET SHOP OR HAVE A TEA PARTY- (Highly Recomend Both)

Midway Bakery & Sweet Shop Pandora's Tea Parlor

JUST SOME OF OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES ON MAIN STREET-

Barber Shop, Bank, Copy Center, Scrap Book Store & Midway Auto Garage

POST OFFICE, HISTORIC TOWN HALL & CITY BUILDING-

MIDWAY CITY INFO

Midway Schools / Wasatch School District

SOME OF THE HISTORICAL & BEAUTIFUL HOMES IN OUR CITY-

DON'T MISS THESE MIDWAY EVENTS-

Fourth of July- Parade and the evening Fireworks on Memorial Hill!

Labor Day Weekend- Swiss Days!

November 4^th-9^th - Cowboy Poetry!

Midway Christmas and 10^th Annual Interfaith Crèche Exhibit

Memorial Day- Pancake Breakfast!

WE'RE JUST MINUTES AWAY FROM-

Heber City is just 5 minutes away where you can find Grocery Stores & Pharmacies- Smiths and Days Market, Family Dollar, Walgreens.

Auto Parts, Car Dealership, Lumber, Plumbing and Hardware Stores, Furniture & Home Décor, More Antique shops.

Fast Food such as McDonalds, Arby's, Sonic, KFC, Taco Bell, Taco Time, The Dairy King, Dominos Pizza, Pizza Hut, Papa Murphy's (and Yes the Pizza Parlors deliver to Midway!) Casual and Formal Dining too!

And don't forget the AVON & IDEAL Movie Theatres and Update Video Rental Store!

NOW THAT YOU HAVE SEEN JUST A LITTLE OF WHAT MIDWAY HAS TO OFFER, PLEASE CALL ME-

I WOULD LOVE TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR DREAM HOME!

Taken from: Utah History Encyclopedia (Links Added)

MIDWAY

Within the state of Utah there are numerous beautiful mountain valleys; few are as picturesque as Heber Valley, some fifty highway miles east of Salt Lake City. Historically, the first white Americans to visit the area just east of Mount Timpanogos were members of a fur trapping brigade led by Etienne Provost in 1824. For many years the valley was referred to as Provo or upper Provo; the river running south through the valley still bears the name of that explorer.

It was the completion of a wagon road through Provo Canyon in 1858 that brought the first Mormon settlers to the area. The following spring, a number of families (most from Utah County) began locating farther to the west along Snake Creek, establishing two small communities. The first was a mile and a half south of present Midway; the second was about three miles north of the first. The more northern settlement was called Mound City due to the numerous nearby limestone formations. Among the early family names of settlers were Robey, Epperson, Bronson, McCarroll, and Smith. By 1861 there were approximately fifty families living west of the Provo River.

In 1866, because of Indian hostilities, territorial governor Brigham Young encouraged settlers to construct forts for protection. The two Snake Creek settlements reached an agreement to build a fort halfway or midway between the two existing communities--hence the name Midway. During the 1860s and 1870s a large number of Swiss immigrants arrived. Swiss names such as Gertsch, Huber, Kohler, Probst, Zenger, Durtschi, and Abegglen, among others, are still found in Midway.

From the beginning, Midway's industry was based on livestock and farming; however, the pioneers' need for building materials quickly became paramount. Sawmills were established by the early 1860s. Three principal operators were Henry T. Coleman, John Watkins, and Moroni Blood. Lime, limestone or "pot stone" blocks, and brick also were soon manufactured. In 1861 John H. Van Wagoner constructed the first commercial gristmill. Retail stores soon were developed by enterprising residents; one, the Bonner Mercantile Store, was constructed in 1879 and is still in use today. A second long-running retail business was founded by Henry T. Coleman and Simon Epperson. Established in 1910 and originally called "the Midway Drug Store," that confectionery and grocery outlet was operated until 1986 by the Coleman family (who also owned an adjacent movie theater initially called the Star and later the Rio). Blacksmiths, livery stables, boarding houses, and other businesses were also part of the community's economy. Moreover, by the 1880s nearby mines, particularly those in Park City, began to play an important economic role in many Midway households, and did so into the late 1960s.

Because of the numerous ninety-degree-plus hot-water springs in the Midway area, several resorts were developed including Schneitter's Hot Pots (now the Homestead) and Luke's Hot Pots (now the Mountain Spa); both were established in the 1880s.

Due to a rather consistent flow of water in Snake Creek Canyon, hydroelectric power was developed and brought to Midway by 1910. Heber Light and Power Company built their plant in the canyon in the late 1940s. The Midway Water Works Company was organized in 1895, bringing culinary water to the community that year; telephone lines and telephones were introduced two years later. A major U.S. Supreme Court decision was handed down in 1923 affecting not only local residents but also western irrigation companies as well. The twelve-year legal battle was between the Midway Irrigation Company (organized in 1887 and incorporated the following year) and Park City mining interests over who owned Snake Creek water. The 1923 landmark decision ruled that the mining companies and their associates could not keep, develop, or sell the creek water, but rather could only temporarily divert it.

Midway was incorporated 1 June 1891 with Alvah J. Alexander elected as president; board members were also elected. The town was a proclaimed third-class city in 1971. The mayor-and-council system was then initiated, with Wilburn F. Huffaker being the first city mayor.

Education and the establishment of schools began very early in Midway history. By 1867 the community had organized a school board of trustees to improve the existing log school. Over the next forty-five years several schools were organized, both public and private, in an effort to meet educational needs. In 1912 a new schoolhouse, using native "potrock," was built on the public square. This facility was used until 1975 when the new Midway Elementary School was dedicated.

Important civic improvements were made in the 1930s and 1940s. A concrete sidewalk program began in 1938, and the Midway Recreation Center, usually referred to as the "Town Hall," was dedicated in June 1941; both were Great Depression-era WPA projects. The east section of the center now houses the local post office, which had been established in December 1864; Salas Smith was the first postmaster. The most active civic organization promoting the community has been the Midway Booster Club. Established in 1947 through the efforts of Luke's Hot Pots Resort owners Joseph B. and Pauline S. Erwin and a number of local enthusiastic supporters, the club has had a very significant role in various city improvements and activities. This has been particularly true with the popular Midway Swiss Days festivities held each fall. Music also has always been a strong community tradition.

Although agriculture is still a significant industry, recreation has fast become an important aspect of Heber Valley's economy. Local recreation attractions include golf courses, Deer Creek Reservoir, Wasatch Mountain State Park, and the nationally known Homestead Resort. Changes will continue to come to the community as the economy shifts towards tourism and as the world discovers Midway and its charm.

See: Wasatch County Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Leslie S. Raty, ed., Under Wasatch Skies, A History of Wasatch County, 1858-1900 (1954); William James Mortimer, How Beautiful Upon the Mountain (1963); Mabel Mitchell, ed., Midway Second Ward and Midway Reflections, 1859-1989 (1989).

Jerry R. Springer