Joseph City celebrated Founders Day last weekend, bringing generations of families together in appreciation of their community and their heritage. Colonists from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founded the town in 1876 along with three other colonies in the area. Of the four, only Joseph City remains. Originally settled by 73 pioneers, the town now has a population of approximately 1,300, with many of the families tracing their lineage back to those first settlers.
Jared Turley (right) deep fries everything from Starbursts and brownies to zucchini and onions in a fry-off at the old gym in Joseph City as Mary Laden, Kellie Crosby and Faely Turley patiently await the results.
Talented youngsters (left to right) Faely Turley, Dallas Taylor, Ethan Lee, Kimberlynn Johnstun and Gavin Turley sing Karaoke before the Founders Day Dance last Friday.
The most important part of Founders Day is sharing time with family. Paul and Sharlene Hatch take time to enjoy the firemen’s barbecue with their granddaughter Vivian Mulder on Saturday.
Navajo County District III Supervisor Jason Whiting and his wife Shanda spent time visiting with Joseph City residents and enjoying some terrific barbecue with their four children.
The Hansen family has been a part of the Joseph City community since pioneers, including Joseph Christian Hansen, first settled it. His granddaughter Sarah May Coombs Hansen (second from left) enjoyed Saturday’s festivities with her daughters, Jolene (Hansen) Fisher (far left) and Debbie (Hansen) Nielsen (third from left, and members of the fourth generation, Jolene’s children Jessica (Fisher) Garner (second from right) and Jacob Fisher (far right).
