Introduction

Childhood

Courtship and Marriage

Education

Teaching

Touring

Scouting

Theater

History and Politics

Farming

Church Service

Mission President

Temple Presidency

Ashcroft Observatory

Family

Funeral

Photo Gallery

HISTORY AND POLITICS

“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

― Plato

“Let us not seek the Republican answer, nor the Democratic answer, but the right answer.  Let us seek not to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”

― John F. Kennedy

Theron was interested in History and Politics from a young age. He was very close to his grandfather, James Woolf, who, with his family, was driven out of Nauvoo and crossed the plains to Utah in 1847. In 1897 the Church held a Semi-Centennial celebration for all those who had survived the 1847 Crossing. James was one of the survivors and was given a commemorative gold pin at that celebration. He later fought in the Blackhawk War and received a medal of honor for his service there. This medal shows signs of being worn on a regular basis.

Grandpa Woolf gave both of these medals to Theron, probably because Theron had spent so much time with him and had shown so much interest, both in U.S. History and in the history of the Church.  Theron was only 12 years old when James Woolf died in 1918, so we know that he was very young when the medals were given to him.

Through his interest in history he apparently also became interested in Politics.  When he lived in Hyde Park, he ran for Town Board Member against his only brother, Leland.  Leland ran on the Republican ticket, and Theron ran on the Democratic ticket.  Leland won the election, which was a blow, but Theron’s consolation was that his mother said that she voted for him.

He tried a second time after they moved to Cedar City in 1954. He ran for the office of 4-year Commissioner. In their Christmas card that year Theron wrote, “Entered politics for the second and last time. Knocked on a lot of doors and shook a lot of hands -- Results, second place again”

Although I do not know how Theron became a Democrat, I do know that the Democratic Party then was not the same as the Democratic Party today.  And I know also that just about ten years before Theron was born, the state of Utah was assigning families to be Democrats or Republicans on the basis of east of main street/west of main street, every other house on the block, this side of the pulpit/that side of the pulpit, etc.  By some measuring stick, Dad ended up on the democratic side.  He agreed with many of the democratic policies of that day.  He loved President Kennedy, and he especially loved Jackie Kennedy.  During Kennedy’s first year in office, Kay and Judy clipped a beautiful photo of Jackie from a magazine, framed it and gave it to Theron for Christmas.  He proudly showed it to everyone who came to the house during the holidays.

Theron had many friends in high political places, both Democrat and Republican.  He could tell you interesting stories about all of them.  He interacted with them in church ways as well as in political settings.  He could tell you which ones could sing the hymns from memory as quickly as he could tell you their political position.  He was a long-time friend of George Dewey Clyde.  When Theron attended Utah State Agricultural College he was an older student, and the only married one, so he was more reliable and also more anxious for work than most others.  When they built the stadium, George Dewey Clyde got Theron to help move sod from the quad to the stadium.  They took a plow and removed the plow shares.  They had a blacksmith fashion a blade that fit between the two beams and, using this, they stripped the grass and moved it.  When Mr. Clyde, (a Republican), was governor of Utah, he appointed Theron to the State Park and Recreation Commission.  When Governor Rampton, (a Democrat), was elected, he removed Theron from the board because he assumed he was a Republican, being a Clyde appointee.

Later, when Rampton must have been aware of his error, his secretary called and asked Theron to appear in his office the following morning.  He asked him to be on the Board of Trustees of Utah State.  Since Theron was teaching at BAC, and it was a branch of that school, he felt that he could not accept.  Governor Rampton asked him then if he had any suggestions and Theron said he thought that there should always be one member of the general authorities on that board.  The Governor said, "Hmmm, I wonder how old Duff would like that?"  Theron didn't know who 'old Duff' was, but later learned that it was Marion D. Hanks, who was appointed to the board, and who Theron had the privilege of escorting around Cedar City when he attended a board meeting there.

Another of Theron’s civic contributions was that during the 1950’s, he was appointed by the State Engineer to be the Water Commissioner with responsibilities to distribute the waters from the Coal Creek Distribution System.  Because the surrounding area depended so heavily on this water source for irrigation, this was an important position.

By the time the United States entered the Second World War, Theron’s was classified 3-A, which meant that he was deferred from active duty for dependency reasons. He was, however, a 2nd Lieutenant in the State Guard and was the commanding officer for the Cedar City unit. He was very handsome in his uniform.