A Biography of Ezra Thompson Clark

Ezra Clark, page 042

42 EZRA THOMPSON CLARK the East when he left for a mission to England in 1865. There was a fine croquet set and court in the back yard and also a good swing. Much of the pleasure in the early days of Utah was con- nected with Church activities. People usually lingered for an hour or two after a Church service to visit with friends. At harvest time when peaches were gathered, the family and friends joined in a social called "peach cutting." Bush- els of peaches were cut and spread out in the sun on scaf- folds and on the house top. This annual activity was followed by an evening of entertainment, perhaps a game around a bonfire or a molasses candy pull with a serving of doughnuts and pumpkin pie. Even threshing times were feast times and a sociable atmosphere relieved the big tasks of their drudgery. Often on Saturday afternoon in the summertime a hay- rack was loaded with boys and girls of the family and neighborhood and driven to the shores of the Great Salt Lake, only three miles away. A bath, followed by a picnic, was enjoyed in the brilliance of Utah's famous sunsets. Often a carriage load of the family went to Salt Lake City -sometimes to the fair, the circus, or a matinee at the Salt Lake Theatre, and always to general conference. On these occasions it was the custom to take a lunch from home. A fine team of horses was the pride of the farm. On the celebrations of the fourth or twenty-fourth of July, Brother Clark usually provided the band wagon and the four-horse team, and it was his delight to decorate them and drive them while the band serenaded the town. He had a large flag made in his home to use on public occasions. His eldest son, Ezra, obtained a flag pole from the canyon where he often went for a load of logs. His father said of him: "Ezra