Sherilyn Tyler of St. George
remembers My Daddy Could Do Anything: A lot of little girls think that their daddy can do anything, but
mine really could. He could, and
did, build a house. He probably learned how to lay the cinder block from his
cousin-a stone mason, but Daddy also did the plumbing, electrical, cement and
cabinet work. He knew how to skin
a chicken, milk a cow and butcher a hog.
He knew how to raise veggies and fruit, and could even keep bees. He could chop wood, fight forest fires
and plant a lawn. Dad was told that someone who could raise strawberries like
he could had no business working in an office.
He could edit a magazine, laying out the pages with
precision. Although the magazine
was printed on large presses, he could set type and run an offset press. If they needed someone to get
information for an article, they didn’t need to send a photographer along, Dad
could write the article and do the photography too. My daddy could do anything. Oh wait, maybe not. He never was very good at making a bed.
Kenneth Robbins of St. George recalls his industrious
grandfather Seymour Bicknell Robbins who was quite the businessman in early
Salt Lake City. In 1907, Seymour founded Keeley’s Ice Cream Factory and
Restaurant Café stores. He devoted his time to the expansion of the business,
which at one time grossed $1.5 million a year. There were three stores in Salt
Lake, one in Ogden and in Provo. I remember and enjoyed the many trips to the chocolate,
and ice cream factories in Salt Lake City, and in Provo. My favorite treat was
the baked halibut fish, French fries and limeade ordered in the restaurant.