REMEMBER WHEN FROM THE PAST--OLD NEBO STAKE

Remember When
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Kenna Holm

OLD NEBO STAKE

    As I think how fast Payson is growingit blows my mind. It seems like just yesterday we were a little town with four LDS wards and one stake that also included Benjamin, Spring Lake and I can t remember who else. Now we just got our sixth stake and I don’t know how many wards just in Payson area.
    I used to know every Bishopric and every boundary of every ward, now I can t keep up with my own ward let alone any other ward.

   At one time there was just one ward. They built a building to house that ward. It is the building that houses the Park Ward now. It is the oldest ward house in Payson. When they divided the one ward and made two, what was known as the First Ward built a ward house.

 It was the building that the Catholic Church is housed in now on third East and first North, and the old building that had the original ward was known as the second ward and was housed in what is known as the Green Church now

    In 1930, they separated the First Ward and made the First and Fourth Ward from the members of the old  first ward. A new building was built up on 200 South and 400 East. (where the First Ward Building is now). And also about the same time they built the Third Ward chapel on 200 North Main.

    Now the Third Ward had half of West Mountain in their ward and the Second Ward had the other half of West Mountain. The First Ward had all of Haskellville (that is now Elk Ridge.)  The West Mountain Ward was created a little later to include the area west of Payson.
The dividing lines of the wards was Main Street and Utah Avenue. Payson was divided into four areas and each area was a ward. Spring Lake had their own ward, Park Ward was created in 1946, then came Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and so on.
    We only had one stake and it was called Nebo Stake. The old Stake Tabernacle stood where
the Central Bank is now. It was a lovely old building.
    Time marches on and Payson grew a little bit more and Fifth and Sixth Wards were created. Fifth Ward was created in 1952 and Sixth Ward was created in 1961.Then came Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and so on.
    My husband and I had been living in Third Ward, where I had lived most of my life even after our marriage and now we were to be in Sixth Ward. For three years the Sixth Ward and Third Ward shared the Third Ward building. In the year of 1964 the new Stake Center at 800 South and 500 West was built. Gee it was nice to have that beautiful new stake center. The Sixth Ward would hold their meetings in there. A lot of man hours went into that building. Those were the days when we had building missionaries and the members of the stake volunteered their time to help build it. I know every time we go into that building, we think of the good times we had helping build that building.
    In 1974, Nebo Stake was divided and two stakes were created. (Oh no! How would we ever have enough people to have two stakes) They would now be known as the Payson Utah Stake and the Payson Utah East Stake. The East Stake took in everybody East of Main Street and Payson Stake took in the West side of Main Street.
    Now wehave six stakes and I could’ t begin to tell you what wards each one takes in. I know we have the Payson Utah Stake, The Payson West Stake, The Mountain View Stake, The Payson East Stake, The Payson South Stake and I don t know what the new stake that they just organized a week ago will be called.
    My how little Payson has grown and things have certainly changed, but isn t it fun to remember when....