Grover Cattle, Crops, and Education Built SJC Traditions

Jess Morris Grover was a well-rounded educator who learned about animals and work from his father and taught those same principles to his family. They in turn continue to teach those same principles to their children. Before becoming an Ag teacher at SJH in 1940, Jess was a cowboy in northern Utah and also worked at the USU dairy for several years. He cowboyed with the Browning Livestock Company in Northern Ut, and Wyo. He graduated midterm, then went to Blanding with Ray Perkins, his roommate. He lived with Joe Nielson, Bud Nielson and Carl Perkins while he was a 1st year school teacher. Singles in those days often had socials at the Blue Mountain Dude Ranch and that’s where he met Afton Hurst. Since it happened to be Leap Year, she asked him his opinion about girls proposing! The strategy worked and they married 4 days after she graduated from SJHS in 1939. Their first child, Merlin, was born in April 1942.

The Saturday after Afton’s graduation they got their marriage license, then bought a new Chevrolet car, and two days later were married in the SLC temple at 10:30 at night; there were 20 couples married in that session! The Grovers first lived in one of the apartments in the Castle House, which in those days was the first Blanding motel! They lived there for 2 years. When school let out. (April 4 1942) he next got a job in Henderson, Nevada on a dairy farm for a rich lady. However, WWII erupted and he was drafted into the Army & moved back to Penrose in Box Elder. He served in a Vet/medical group, working with local people to help procure food for the military. During the War, served in Europe. Jesse would trade cigarettes for candy, which he gave to kids and he often helped drunk soldiers get back to base. Many of his comrades fought in the Battle of the Bulge but his commanding officer kept him on base as he noticed he was a church attender. At that time Princess Elizabeth (who later became queen) helped transport military leaders and she once gave Jess a ride to the train station so he could go to church. The Branch president had prayed for help as they didn’t have priesthood holders and help was much needed. Jess provided veterinary service for farmers in England and France and gathered produce and dairy products for the troops.

The Army offered advancements if soldiers would stay but Jess missed his family and returned home. He hadn’t seen his daughter for 22 months. Even though jobs were scarce, he was able to find work at the Ben Lomond farms in Logan & was hired as a herdsman for their Guernsey cows. Jess also Worked for Cream of Weber Dairy but money was tight so after 2 years the whole family decided to move to Montana. He started work there taking care of cattle all over the state; however, a car accident changed their plans and they gathered up their milk cows and moved to Blanding. Zenos Black talked Jess into teaching at SJHS and Erv Guymon helped them get a 1 room building in the area where Yaks is where they also kept their cattle. Jess farmed and ran 400 cattle on the Blue Mountain but often did veterinarian work for Blanding and Monticello ranchers. He also did custom haying in Montezuma Canyon for the Daltons as well for as Harrison Oliver, the Nielsons and Carl Perkins. In addition, he kept his teaching certificate current and often had to take summer classes. Because of this, his wife and boys often had to take care of the livestock and milk business.

Jess was finally successful in getting the school district to restart FFA (which it continues to do). He had good rapport with Native Americans students and taught them skills that helped them be successful raising livestock on the reservation. Many became good athletes and FFA leaders. In addition, they learned parliamentary procedures as well as agricultural strategies. Mark Maryboy was one of his students. He also worked with the San Juan Extension Service to implement the Junior Livestock program in 1972. Another Grover enterprise started in 1955 which was running the Blanding Dairy. They delivered milk, house to house 6 days a week and took ice cream to cafes. They even sold milk to Meadow Gold who eventually turned around and brought milk to Blanding. Eventually Kenneth & Don Brown bought the dairy. Both of his parents had a love of youth and agriculture and Jess had a major influence in the lives of many people. Clisbee Lyman and Don Smith were some of his first students. He was good friends with Bud Nielson and helped start VFW. The San Juan County Fair and FFA are now a permanent part of county history, thanks to the efforts of Jess Grover.

The Stone Lizard Flourishes with Simpson TLC

Craig and Kathy Simpson’s family bought the Blanding Motel from Gary and Sharon Guymon Sept. 2011 and embarked on a journey of creativity, problem solving and success. Their son Adam designed a metal Stone Lizard which became the motel’s namesake. He also made signs and metal sconces for the rooms. They first painted the outside, replaced the teal awnings and added planter boxes. The old office became the mechanic room and they took out the coal burning stove and repaired everything that didn’t meet HIPAA requirements (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)

In keeping with the Southwest theme, they purchased rugs, utilized petrified wood, and purchased rustic chairs/ beds/ couches from the Grand Canyon Lodge. They took out all the old carpeting, textured the walls, repainted and added hardwood floors and put in tongue and groove ceilings and even added petrified wood sinks. They put in triple trusses to support the floors and utilized both tile and wood in the floors. Room #19 became a breezeway into the back where they maintained a beautiful garden, fire pit, with patio furniture that was used by guests for outdoor meals. Next came landscaping: Many of the trees that Blickenstaff’s planted were still producing fruit.so they weren’t starting from ground zero. The Simpsons brought in 30 additional trees and 60 shrubs which helped control noise from the road and they put in both a drip and a sprinkling system. They also planted grapes, herbs, and other crops that could be utilized for meals. Their son Adam designed and made signs as well as metal sconces for all the rooms. A retaining wall was added, as well as a gate and vent covers. In 2022 they fixed the last 6 rooms, replaced the sidewalk and added large outdoor rocks. Then they celebrated by taking their family to Italy!

Over the years they’ve had many interesting guests: Thurl Bailey, as well as Utah's Lt. Governor have stayed there as well as the head of BYU grounds, and a college professor from Kenya who invented a water purifier. The Crow Canyon staff came twice a year with anywhere from 18-30 people, for 3-4 nights. They did lots of night photography. The Lizard staff would cater meals for large groups like this. Europeans were especially interested in SE Utah and Craig would print out maps for visitors so they knew how to get to interesting places in the county. The quality of their accommodations and meals soon spread and the state identified them as a “preferred” provider. Their excellent service also resulted in a positive article in the New York Times! As priorities changed, they decided to sell The Stone Lizard which occurred in 3 months. The new owners are Lela and Denny Jones and the Stone Lizard is still ever present and welcoming.