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https://library.weber.edu/collections/scua

Stewart Library Special Collections and University Archives, 3921 Central Campus Drive, Ogden, UT (2026)

06/07/2026

It's National Chocolate Ice-Cream Day
We are highlighting the Farr Better Ice Cream company and its roots and local Farr family. Originally the Asael Farr & Sons Company started back in 1890 at first as an ice company. It was started to meet the demands for ice from various railroad companies that were shipping fresh produce. It was ran by father & son duo Lorin and Asael. They hand sawed the ice and would bring it into the city via horse drawn sleighs.
On March 25, 1920 the Farr family officially incorporated the business as a Utah corporation and constructed the first commercial ice plant in a five-state area. The introduction of Farr Better Ice “manufactured in a modern sanitary ice plant”, signaled the end of traditional ice harvesting in Utah.
By 1927 the modern refrigerator had taken the need for ice in the house away and had even modernized the ability to make ice at home.
By 1929 the Farr company had converted their ice business into ice cream. They were producing twenty gallons of ice cream per hour. The U.S. commercial ice cream manufacturing industry was only in its infancy. Newly developed modern equipment enabled large volume production, but required a substantial source of ice. Recognizing their strategic advantage as operators of Utah’s largest ice inventory, the Farr’s made easy transition into commercial ice cream production. Originally, ice cream was sold exclusively in the company’s ice cream shop attached to the plant. Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry were the original flavors and a hefty single scoop cost a nickel. Within 20-30 years, they developed over 600 different ice cream flavors, some of which are still used today. Currently, they are producing over 20,000 gallons a day.

Over the years Farr Ice Cream as become a household name being one of the first companies to make ice cream containers that could be bought in the store. It was Dan’s Market in Salt Lake City that was the first to ask for tubs of ice cream to sell. In the 1970s Farr was the first to make ice cream in a 5-gallon plastic bucket.
The Farr Better Ice Cream shop is the longest continuously operating ice cream shop in Utah.

06/06/2026

June is National Great Outdoors Month!

WSU’s university archives and special collections preserve decades of outdoor adventure through photographs that capture Utah’s love for recreation and exploration. From skiing snowy mountain slopes and hiking scenic trails to boating on local waters and climbing canyon walls, these images ranging from the 1940s to the 2000s reflect the adventurous spirit that has long been part of our campus and community history.

As we celebrate National Great Outdoors Month, we’re taking a look back at the people and places that helped shape outdoor life in Northern Utah and the memories made along the way.

06/05/2026

It's National Donut Day! What better place to get fresh donuts than Bowman's in Kaysville?
Junior Joseph Bowman was the third child of Joseph Bowman and Nancy Collinson. He lived in Ogden during his early years where he received his education. He was called June or J. J. After his marriage, J. J. went to work for Scowcroft and Sons General Wholesale Company in Ogden.
Wallace Cragun, born in 1875 in Smithfield, Utah, was an early entrepreneur, and in 1913, the Cragun family moved to Farmington, Utah, where Wallace opened the Golden Rule Store at the former William Flint saloon building at 128 N. Main St. He hired J. J. Bowman as a clerk for his Kaysville store.
J. J. was a good worker and shortly, he became manager of the store.
In 1914, Wallace Cragun leased space in the John Gailey building at 75 North Main Street for his growing business and moved his store there.
In 1916, J. J. Bowman purchased the Kaysville Golden Rule store from Mr. Cragun with $5,000 he had saved and additional money he borrowed and immediately constructed a new 33’ x 80’ building.
The store, Western Golden Rules Company, opened on June 5, 1917. The clerks were his sisters-in-law, Eliza and Bessie Hadlock. He changed to name to avoid any conflict with J.C. Penney who owned the rights to the Golden Rule store.
In 1927, J. J. leased the building at 11 North Main, the location of the former Kaysville Co-operative Mercantile Institution, purchased the entire stock of the Co-op, and relocated his store to this new location. After combining the inventory of the Co-op with his Kaysville Golden Rule store, he remodeled the interior and placed the grocery department along the rear wall, making it more convenient for deliveries arriving at the back of the building. He also offered shoe and tailoring services.
In February 1928, J. J. purchased the Kaysville Meat Market from Ralph Layton. With the acquisition of a meat department, the Golden Rule now had one of the most complete mercantile services in the county.
In February 1933, J. J. remodeled his store again. The store operated on a strict cash-and-carry basis. What was found to be most successful in some of the largest stores in the west influenced the general layout. Conveniently heightened shelves extended the length of the store, beautifully displaying the grocery stock. Fresh fruits and vegetables were displayed in bins designed for central aisle access. Throughout the store, customers made their own selections from the items displayed. A grand opening was held on February 11, 1933.
In 1947, when Ray Ashton decided to construct a building complex on Main Street that would include a movie theater, J. J. decided to enlarge and remodel his store that was immediately south of the new complex.
J. J. changed the name of the store to Bowman’s Food and Department Store. A prominently displayed sign that hung over the door conveyed his business philosophy; that he would treat his customers the way he expected to be treated.
Upon returning from an LDS mission, Dick, J.J.’s youngest son, had to make a decision. He had attended the University of Utah hoping of becoming an electrical engineer. Dick realized that his father's health was failing. He would be needed in the family business, so he changed his major to marketing. When June died in 1951, Mary Bowman turned to 24-year-old Dick to manage the business. He became partners with his mother, and over the next 25 years, purchased the business from her.
In 1957, after obtaining a $50,000 loan from his mother-in-law, Dick was able to build a new store at 75 East 200 North. It was conveniently located next to the post office. As Kaysville grew, Bowman’s Market expanded. In 1996 Bowmans Market moved for the last time building the large market that sits at 326 Main Street.
Dick passed away in 2012.

06/04/2026

Today is National Cheese Day!
Recipes were posted in the newspaper frequently. Back in 1950, there was one for cottage cheese cupcakes. This was mentioned with the nursery rhyme of Miss Muffet.
The recipe: ½ cup butter, 2 cups brown sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 1 cup chopped raisins, grated rind of 1 lemon, 1 egg, 2 cups sifted cake flour, 2 cups of Cream O’ Weber cottage cheese and ½ tsp of baking soda.
Cream butter and one cup of brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add lemon rind and egg and beat well. Add cottage cheese and second cup of brown sugar and beat again. Sift flour once, measure and resift with dry ingredients. Blend with cottage cheese mixture. Fold in raisins. Bake in greased muffin tins at 350 F for 30 minutes or until done. Serve warm.
We are still collecting community member recipes, share your favorite cheese filled recipes to be added to the community cookbook.

06/03/2026

June is National Candy Month, one of Ogden's well know candy shops was Dokos Candy Co. Here is a bit of their history:
Dokos Candy Company was owned and operated by George and John Dokos. The store was at 2522 Washington Blvd. from 1930-1983. They manufactured high grade chocolates, ice cream, sherbets and lunches. Both brothers were immigrants from Greece and George first worked as a clerk from 1913 to 1930 at the Orpheum Candy Co., then John followed working there a few years later starting in 1919 until 1930. According to the Polk Directories, sometime in 1930 the two brothers started Dokos Candy Company. It stayed downtown until it closed in 1983. It did however after the death of John, transfer ownership to their nephew, Minas Retalis. Many of the family members worked in some capacity at the business.

06/02/2026

The Wistaria Candy Company was a highly popular candy and ice cream parlor on Washington Avenue in downtown Ogden, Utah. Founded in 1916 by Greek immigrant brothers, Andrew, Peter, and Gus Batestas. It served as a local hotspot until it was forced to relocate due to a massive fire in 1923. A devastating fire in March 1923 destroyed the D.H. Peery Building and surrounding structures. This space was later repurposed to build the iconic Peery's Egyptian Theater. Following the fire, The Wistaria moved just down the street to 2481 Washington Avenue, where it continued to operate until 1933. In 1933, the Batestas brothers relocated their operations to Salt Lake City.
Trademark registration for from 1918 found in the Secretary of State Trademark Registers: bit.ly/2Nh4KUr

06/01/2026

Today is: World Milk Day.
One of the most well known dairies of Weber is Cream O' Weber. The family behind it was the Beus family of Hooper. Founded in 1924 as the Weber Central Dairy Association in Ogden, Utah, the brand's iconic "Cream o' Weber" name was coined in 1925 by a local high school student.
James Beus was born in Ogden City, Utah in 1869 and later moved to a farm in Hooper, Utah in 1878 with his family. When he was older he married Susan Parker and together they had six children. After they got married he became a teacher. Later on he opened a dairy called Weber Central Dairy. They moved to Salt Lake City in 1963 and was open until 2012 and continued to be called Cream O' Weber even after being acquired by Darigold in 2010, until it closed. The dairy was located on Ogden Avenue between 25th and 26th Street and moved to 12th Street in 1949.

05/31/2026

Our last AAPI month spotlight is highlighting Wataru (Wat) Misaka. He was born December 21, 1923, to Fusaichi and Tatsuyo Misaka and was the oldest of four. His parents owned a barber shop on 25th Street. When he was 15 his father died and the Japanese community helped his mother get her barber's license to continue working and providing for the family. He and his brothers were her first test subjects.

He got into playing basketball while attending Central Junior High and went on to play in high school and then for Weber College. He was drafted in 1944 and served in the foreign language service until 1946 when he returned to Utah and continue schooling at the University of Utah.

After winning the NIT tournament in 1947 he was drafted into the Basketball Association of America (later the NBA) and was the first Asian drafted and played three games for the New York Knicks and was later cut for being too short. He stood at 5 feet 7 inches. In 2009 he was recognized as the first person of color to play in modern professional basketball. There was also a film titled Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story that was about his journey. He was even recognized by President Obama for his athletic accomplishments.

He went on to earn a degree in engineering from the University of Utah, married and had two children.

We had the opportunity to interview Wat in 2014 for our Immigrants at the Crossroads exhibit. Wat has since then passed away in 2019 at the age of 95. If you want to see more of the project you can look at our digital collections at https://dc.weber.edu/

05/30/2026

The Star Noodle on 25th Street was owned and operated by the Ryujin family up until 2007. It stood at 225 25th Street, now Stella's Italian Cuisine but one was a very popular noodle parlor in Ogden along with a few others, Utah Noodle, Kay's Noodle, Bamboo Noodle and many others. The restaurant was owned by brothers George and Tamotsu (Tom) Ryujin. George also owned another parlor the Dai Enko Tei which is now is Kobe in South Ogden. The iconic sign was designed by George Ryujin.
When the restaurant closed the neon dragon went into storage and was gone until 2015 when it was finally returned fully restored and is an icon of 25th Street today.
In our collection is the interview of Max Ryujin, son of Tom. He gives a vivid account of growing up in Ogden during the time of segregated 25th street and the booming railroads.
Did you know we did oral histories for people of Ogden? We have a large collection online at https://dc.weber.edu/ check it out!

05/29/2026

Based on some of our oral histories available, Japanese farmers played a significant role in Utah agriculture around the turn of the 20th century, and Del Monte Foods has long-standing, though currently volatile, relationships with farmers across North America.
In areas of West Ogden, North Ogden, Honeyville and parts of Box Elder County, many Japanese immigrants came from California during the second World War, some came before but many of the farmers grew crops for the local Del Monte plant. As families grew, many families moved away from farming and generational farming slowed down with Japanese families.
There were other places in Utah that had Japanese farmers worked. Check out ever growing collection of digital Oral Histories at https://dc.weber.edu

Stewart Library Special Collections and University Archives

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