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The Naming of Laird Ave and a Snelgrove connection!
Originally, Laird Ave was listed as Edith Ave. Land records and personal history accounts lend credence to Edward Laird (1852-1925) as the source of the current street name, Laird Avenue.
According to the local paper, he was involved in a number of real estate transfers in 1907 and 1908 in a subdivision named, “Laird”. Those lots were located at what is now Laird Avenue between 9th and 10th East. All these land transfers occurred immediately before the street named “Laird Avenue” first appeared in the city directory in 1908. Therefore, there is credence that the street was named after Edward Laird. A relative, William Naylor, was likely also invested in that land, as the name of one of the dead-end courts that runs north off of 13th South just east of 9th East is named “Naylor Court.”
Edward Laird was born in Scotland in 1852 and died in Salt Lake in 1925 at the age of 73. Edward was a child of four when his family immigrated as handcart pioneers in the infamous Willie Handcart Company of 1856 where more than a hundred of the pioneers perished in frigid Wyoming. Edward Laird’s family however arrived unscathed. Living first in Spanish Fork, then Heber City, Edward grew up accustomed to hard work on his father’s farm but never attended school. While camping in Park City, Edward found some silver ore. Edward and his brother had their camp ground assayed and sold their claim (which is now Silver King) for $1500. With this money, Edward purchased land in Parley’s Canyon (now Mountain Dell), began raising sheep and hauling silver ore from Park City to Salt Lake. A little farther down the canyon was the Hardy Station, a halfway house run by the Hardy family. It was in the Hardy home that Edward met Valeria Ann Flint.
When grown, Laird homesteaded land in Parley’s Canyon at Mountain Dell and became a successful sheep farmer. He owned water rights of Parley’s Canyon Creek and sold some of them to Salt Lake City in 1900 during a severe water drought. Thereafter, he relocated to Salt Lake City and started buying real estate in Salt Lake City. He bought a property near 1st South and 5th West and eventually started Rio Grande Lumber Company there. He also had ownership in Sugarhouse Lumber Company, which was located on 21st South near 12th East. Later, he joined with Misters Ashton and Jenkins of the Ashton-Jenkins Company, who developed much of Yalecrest. He later became a vice-president of the Ashton-Jenkins Company.
The family moved to 840 East Twelfth South (later becoming 840 East 2100 South), after selling their property in Mountain Dell in Parley’s Canyon. He and his wife, Valeria Ann Flint Laird had eight children, five daughters and three sons. The sons continued with the sheep farming part of the family business and moved to Dubois, Idaho. Edward also owned much of the block around his house and that’s why there are other family members showing in the Polk directories living at the other addresses, 817 and 820 East Twelfth South.
Edward Laird (1852-1925) 1922 50th Wedding Anniversary of Edward Laird and Valeria Laird with their children.
Back row left is Fidella Laird Snelgrove, wife of Charles Rich Snelgrove
Laird and Snelgrove Families
Edward’s youngest daughter, Fidella married Charles Rich Snelgrove, who in 1929 created Snelgrove’s Ice Cream Company. After the deaths of Edward and Valeria in 1925 and 1930 respectively, Charles and Fidella lived in his parents house at 840 E. 1200 South (changed later to 840 E 2100 South) in Sugarhouse. The year before Valeria died, she allowed Charles and Fidella to open their ice cream business up the street at one of their properties at 1055 E. 2100 South. Eventually, sometime after 1940, the houses at 820 and 840 E. 2100 South were razed to make room for the Snelgrove factory and main store with the iconic giant spinning ice-cream cone sign at 850 E. 2100 South. The oldest son of Charles Rich Snelgrove (husband to Fidella Laird, the youngest daughter of Edward Laird) was Charles Laird Snelgrove. He worked with his father and later ultimately took over ownership and expanded the ice cream business throughout Salt Lake City (compiled by Kim Childs, KEEPYalecrest)
Annual KEEP Yalecrest Yardsale-August 20
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Celebrating History (2016)
K.E.E.P.’s History Committee continues to learn and have fun. I thought I’d share on our more recent activities.
In April we helped judge student-produced documentaries for the Utah History Day State Competition. The top winners in various categories will be competing this month in Washington D.C. at the National History Day Contest. It was a great pleasure to meet youth so enthusiastic about history and so darn INCREDIBLY SMART and TALENTED! Go, Utah!
In May we dropped in at the Salt Lake County Archives during their 30 Year Anniversary Celebration… where we chatted with more history-loving folks and received a nice tour. We greatly appreciate the help they have given us. And it was nice meeting others that also enjoy utilizing the SLCo Archives. (Have you ever seen chattel mortgage records? They have them.)
We know not everyone can attend K.E.E.P.’s one-day Walking Tour events. So… we decided to put the tour into a new format and try taking it on the road to share with more people. Our “Tour on Tour” participants have hailed from Sarah Daft, Parklane, St. Joseph’s Villa, Chateau Brickyard and Brookdale. It’s been fun!
Every time we do a presentation or a ride-along, we hear questions and comments that either make us chuckle, teach us something, or have us doing more research to find the answers to improve our tour. Speaking of which– for those that missed it last October (and those curious about how the tour has changed)…
Please Join Us!
Thursday – June 16th
6:30pm – Foothill Library
for a slideshow presentation that will take you on
our Yalecrest Oldest Homes Tour.
–Kelly Marinan
Harvard Avenue Contributions to Motion Pictures and Beauty Pageants
The Prairie School bungalow at 1559 Harvard Avenue was built 99 years ago in 1917. Alvin and LaVon Goodspeed were its first owners and moved in that year, just a few months after the birth of their daughter Muriel on May Day, May 1, 1917. Alvin was a traveling salesman and LaVon was a granddaughter of LDS Prophet Lorenzo Snow. Muriel’s eighth birthday party on May Day 1925 was reported in the Salt Lake Telegram and featured a May Pole on the front lawn. As a child, Muriel showed great talent singing and dancing so her parents enrolled her at age 8 in the Theodore Kosloff Dance Studio in Los Angeles.
After graduating from East High School in 1934, LaVon and Muriel moved to Los Angeles to give Muriel her chance to star in Hollywood motion pictures. In 1936, she appeared in the first “Flash Gordon” movie serials starring Buster Crabbe and Jean Rogers.
Muriel Goodspeed and Jean Rogers in “Flash Gordon”
Muriel Goodspeed and other cast members of “Flash Gordon,” 1936
Muriel in “Flash Gordon,” 1936
Muriel Goodspeed, left, 2nd Runner-Up to Miss America 1938
In August 1938, Muriel earned the title Miss Utah and a month later won the Miss America talent competition to become second runner-up to Miss America, 1938.
Muriel hasn’t been the only Harvard Avenue resident to be crowned Miss Utah.
Loi-Anne Bailey, daughter of Loile and Anna Bailey, long-time residents of 1553 Harvard Avenue, became Miss Utah 1964 and competed in the 1964 Miss America Pageant.
Muriel Goodspeed, Jeanette MacDonald and Pamela Randall in Noel Coward’s “Bitter Sweet,” 1940
Muriel Goodspeed became the vocal backup and understudy to Jeanette MacDonald and went on to appear in the 1940 Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald musical, “Bitter Sweet,” and the 1943 film “Presenting Lily Mars,” starring Judy Garland and Van Heflin. She traveled with other celebrities on the World War II Bond Tours.
Married for sixty years, Muriel had three children. After raising them, she continued teaching music lessons for many years to many piano students in Southern California. She produced and performed in many local musical shows into her mid-eighties. Muriel died in 2005 at the age of 87.
Same but Different – Signs of Spring
This photo was taken in the 1930’s on the 1700 block of Harvard Ave.
Gone are the skate keys, longs skirts and cool retro hats. But the kids are still here. You can see them wearing helmets as they move down the sidewalks skating or riding their bikes. You might also see them on razors, skateboards, and even motorized scooters and hoverboards!
–Kelly Marinan
Photo: Courtesy of K. Lewis
K.E.E.P. Yalecrest Garners Award!
On March 31, 2016 K.E.E.P. Yalecrest received the 2016 Heritage Award for Organization from the Utah Heritage Foundation. It was a privilege and honor to accept this at their annual banquet. Additionally we were asked and honored to be presenters at their annual preservation conference.
The awards announcement and news coverage: Preservation conference encourages, honors restoration of Utah’s historic buildings _ The Salt Lake Tribune:
Accepting the award, original board members and supporters.
Listing for our presentation in the conference program
Centennial Plaques Available
We’ve just installed our first exclusive CENTENNIAL PLAQUE! If your Yalecrest house is 100 years old and you’d like it recognized, contact us and we’ll work with you on your individualized plaque!
The Naylor Home
This Period Revival home on Harvard Ave was built in 1929 by the Doxey-Layton Company. Graham Doxey (of Doxey Real Estate) and Howard Layton (of Layton Construction) were Yalecrest residents that joined together to build and sell homes.
William and Emily Naylor were the first owners and long time residents. The 1940 census has 6 adults living in the home: William E. and his wife Emily, their 3 adult children (Audrey, Evelyn and William J.) and Emily’s mom (Mary James). Mr. Naylor was his own boss working in the grocery store business. Mrs Naylor and her mother came from Ireland. Audrey had graduated from college and was working as a school teacher. Evelyn was employed as a stenographer. And William J. was in his 1st year of college and working as a grocery store clerk.
Mr Naylor passed away in 1966 at the age of 84. For at least 20 years he owned and operated Dickinson’s Market (2nd S. near 7th East, now a parking lot). The family lived in the back of the store for a couple years. Mr Naylor was well-respected in the community. He served as president of the Salt Lake Retail Butcher’s and Grocer’s Association, was a captain in the Utah National Guard, served as board director in at least 3 organizations, worked in the government’s War Assets Administration, and later entered the real estate business.
Emily James Naylor immigrated to the the U.S. when she was a teenager. She lived to be 95. The home stayed in the Naylor family for more than 55 years. Their eldest daughter Audrey (born in 1906) was still living here in the late 1980’s.
——- Connection to early SLC history:
William E. Naylor was a direct descendent of the “Naylor Brothers.” The Naylor brothers consisted of Thomas (1826-1872), William (1835-1918) and George (1837-1922).
The brothers were born in England where they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They came to Utah with the early Mormon settlers, most likely with the 1852 John S. Higbee Company.
The Naylor Brothers manufactured some of the first wagons built in Utah. Together they were skilled blacksmiths, woodworkers and mechanics.
William E. Naylor was one of the sons of George Naylor and his 2nd wife Fanny Wiscombe.
As the popularity of wagons and carriages began to dwindle, George Naylor started selling Studebakers. At one time SLC boasted a Studebaker showroom in the Naylor Building (100 S. block of State Street).
–Kelly Marinan
Centennial – Harold B. Lamb House
The Harold B. Lamb house at 1327 Michigan Avenue, a distinctive two-story home of the Prairie School design, was built during the last half of 1915 and has therefore just reached its 100th birthday. Susanna Bransford Emery Holmes, whose massive fortune in silver mining earned her the title, “Utah’s Silver Queen,” financed the home’s building for her nephew Harold Bransford Lamb, the son of Susanna’s sister, Viola Bransford Lamb. Viola died after giving birth to Harold in 1886, and Susanna took in Harold to raise as her own. Harold and his family moved into the house when it was new. He died nine years later of appendicitis. He was only 38 years old. The old photo of the house, from the Shipler Commercial Photographers Collection of the Utah State Historical Society, was taken February 9, 1916, 100 years ago. The new photo was taken February 9, 2016.
— Kim Childs