1) Every time I speak in Sacrament meeting in my ward in Spokane Washington, someone comes up to tell me how they have a connection to Blanding. The coolest one was a guy who’s Mom grew up down the street from my Grandparents. (In further discussion, this is believed to be Denise Blickenstaff or her sister who was the mother.)
2) I also remembered that Kim Hosking’s Niece was in my ward here in Spokane and another person in my ward was a cousin to the Breedloves.
3) Not sure if this counts or not but a few years I was listening a teleconference that was connected to a FB group I was in. The speaker was great and I commented on a post how much I enjoyed it. He looked at my profile and saw I was from Blanding. He messaged me that his Mom was from Blanding and her maiden name was Harvey. We figured out that his Mom was my Grandma Irene Harvey Watkins' half sister. She was Great Grandpa Harvey’s daughter from his second marriage. We had both gone to Grandpa’s funeral as children and may have met there but neither of us remembered meeting before.
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Germany, New Jersey -- Lynn Shumway:
My cousin, David Pond, who formerly lived in Grand Junction CO, met Steve and Donna Jensen in Germany while in the military. Then they both lived in New Jersey in the same place and were in the same ward. One Sunday, my Aunt Marian and Donna's mother Ruth, were visiting in New Jersey at the same time and they recognized each other from something involving Relief Society when Blanding and Grand Junction, CO were in the same region. David and his family were interested in relocating to Blanding years later, about the same time Steve and Donna moved back here. David was unaware of where in Utah, they were moving to. Lo and behold, I happened to live right here in Blanding as well!
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San Juan Island, WA -- Sarah Fahey Aldous:
I moved to San Juan Island, WA, and the Jerry and Nancy Wilson family in my branch lived in Blanding years before I did. Super awesome people.
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Feb. 4, 2018 --Joe B. Lyman:
A hundred years ago I was trying to cash a check in the Provo area. It wasn't going well until the manager saw the address on the check was Blanding. He asked if I knew Scott Meyer. I said, yes. He asked if Scott would take my check. I told him I was sure he would. The manager told the clerk that was good enough for him.
➽Salt Lake/Rexburg -- Janet Wilcox:
Joe's story, reminds me of an experience I had Dec. 4, 2017 headed back from Pres. Trump's big Bears Ears announcement. I was riding with Wendy Black and Joanie Seibert and we stopped at Winn Co somewhere in Salt Lake. I wanted to make sure they would take a check as I had no cash, so I spoke to an older looking clerk, and asked him if they would take a check from Blanding. He asked me if I knew Brian and Silvia Stubbs! I answered, "Probably better than anyone else there!! We're neighbors." Turns out he was Brian's brother-in-law who just happened to be filling in that week, but actually lives in Idaho. Since I knew his wife a bit, I reminded him that Silvia and I had once brought our kids and lots of boxes and pick peaches in Castle Valley one fall, when they used to live there, many years ago.
➽ Church History Tour -- Marilyn Lyman:
My sister Carol and I were on a church history tour twenty years ago. After a few days I found that over half of the forty people on the tour had a Blanding connection. Mission companions, aunts, uncles, lived there once, old roommates, married someone from there and one was my cousin!
It happens everywhere lol. I was getting my port removed last Friday and they gave me a gown to change into and closed the curtain. The nurses station was just on the other side of the curtain and while I'm changing the older male nurse says, "So, Bayles... Do you know a Lyle Bayles from Blanding?" Lol. I replied, "that depends..." LOL.
A few minutes later the student nurse asks, "Do you know a Michelle Shumway that works in physical therapy?" Lol. Last year I was at a soccer tournament and was sitting at my son's game. It had just started and a woman rushed over then asked if she could sit in the shade next to me. It was hot out. Of course, I made room. Then her son and husband showed up. We made more room. I had asked her what city they were from and she said Chicago. Lol. She said they had moved to Utah with in the last year. We continued to chat and I told her I was originally from a small town in Southern Utah named Blanding. She immediately says, "my husband family is from Blanding. Did you know Donald Bayles?" Lol.
Last spring I was desperate for some help to get my house clean. Between health issues, appts, kids and lack of energy I decided to hire someone to help. I had seen a few locals advertising on the city Facebook pages so I prayed and picked one. She was very nice... About my age. While cleaning she noticed my family history books, life history's of Bayles' and Harris's. Turns out she's also related, lol. Just a couple stories.
➽ Church History Tour -- Karen Gutke Painter:
My mom and sister and I went on a church history tour in 2016. Who was in our group? Brenda Dennis Cosby Munson and Tracy Black Fielding and Darlene Kolberg.
➽ China, Ohio --Eileen Mellor Davis I have to laugh because I run into people from Blanding and SJC all the time since moving to Lehi. My husband goes nuts because I run into people all the time. I have monthly encounters. I know when I was teaching in China there was a connection to someone in San Juan County, but I can't remember it sadly.
When I lived in Ohio, I was friends with a lady who knew Amelia (Larson Perkins?) at USU. There is a Laws family that is friends with my in-laws in Vancouver, Washington. The father grew up in Blanding.➽ Pocatello, Burley ID -- Steve Wozniak Just a few years ago we had a guest speaker from a different stake for our 5th Sunday lesson
in church. An Elder Hurst. Turns out it was George Hurst. The late Reed Hurst's son, who lives in Pocatello. Definitely a small 
Ran into Stephen S Olsen and Tara Dawn Olsen in Burley Idaho when I was picking up my kids. It was when they lived in Idaho. They were getting ready to visit an Elder from Blanding that was serving near BurleyHappened right before Christmas. A friend of a friend asked if I knew Bufaye and Lee Reynolds. Always a frequent occurrence. (They were from Idaho, too)Addendum by Janet: I had a strange reconnection with Bufaye and Lee last August 2017, (though they are both deceased). We were staying at Autumn's in-laws home in St. George, and I was cleaning off the counter, and there were old letters in the pile, addressed to Lee and Buffaye. Turns out they had owned the place before the Jeppson's bought it. I think the letters had been there for quite a while.➽
Wash DC, Hawaii, -- Terra N David Fepuleai When we were coming back from our Close Up trip in DC in 2000 it seems like we saw someone from Blanding on the plane, (Murphy maybe?)
While living in Hawaii and working at Polynesian Cultural Center, I had a lot of Blanding encounters including you guys (Wilcoxes 2009) , Sunni and Dr. Jones. Several others I can not remember, but several times I would tell customers I was from Blanding I would get, "do you know?" I wrote a lot of them down in my journal of conversations with my Grandma. (I will have to find it.) When we attempted to move back to HI in 2015, my Mom and I were at PCC and we saw Liz McPherson and her mom there.
➽ Renton, WA -- Mary Jean Welker (Rick Howell's daughter)Bumped into a couple of missionaries serving here in Renton, Washington. I'm not the only person in my ward with ties to Blanding either. Photo shows Elder Brandon Pugh. (Debbie and Delton's son) I suddenly can't remember what his first name is. He knows Dan and Heather's kids well. One of the Jack family grandsons served here several years ago. Told me Tara and Tamera were his aunts. In another funny twist, my sister-in-law, Phyllis Welker, did her student teaching in Blanding, back in the late 60s. ➽ Feb. 4, 2018 --Tonya Kay Forster When I first met my husband, his parents said a lady in the ward was from Blanding, it was Jane Black Gill who is Shan Redd's cousin. We now serve in primary together.
➽ Hawaii --Renee Pincock Peggy Sue texted us from Hawaii tonight, saying that they went go church this morning and Shaun Blake recognized her. (Shawn is Kermit and Virginia Blake's son, and works for the Univ. of Hawaii and his family lives there.)➽ Hawaii -- Norma MaddenMy grand daughter and family were living in Hawaii and were at a stake meeting when they met a new member. As they visited they found both their grandmothers lived in Blanding, across the street from one another and had grown up across the street when they were kid's. VerDonne Blake and Norma Madden.➽
Los Angeles -- Lindsay Palmer SmithI was in Los Angeles, CA at The Phantom of the Opera about 23 or so years ago, with some friends, we were talking before the show started. I had said something about Blanding. A few min. later I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked behind me and a lady said “Excuse me but I just happened to overhear you and your friends talking about Blanding” She then asked if we were from Blanding, Ut. I said we sure are she asked me if I knew the Pincock’s. I said yes! I can’t remember if she said she was Richard’s sister or sister in law. She said they had visited Blanding many times!➽ Woodbadge, CostCo. Nauvoo-- Patty Lyman My sister did Woodbadge training up in the Salt Lake area and one of her favorite new friends is one of Preston and Dorothy Nielson’s sons who is a lawyer up there. (Either Jens or Platt Nielson) We run into Jennifer Kurtz Jones all the time at Costco.We’ve run into Ronna and Danny. Tom and Karie Palmer and we shared our favorite date lunch/dinner the $1.50 hotdog .Yesterday it was Susanne Johnson and Davey Black. ➽ Vernal, Ut -- Michelle WheelerI was in the Vernal Temple in the baptistery getting ready to do some baptisms and a guy spots me from across the room and if I remember right it was Donny Laws. (Who lives in the Uintah Basin.)
Another time I was with my friends work place, and someone was getting a drink and he knew who I was, However, I didn't recognize him but it was Jamie Laws. Lol.David Hickman's mom lives around here; Bruce Guymon is my Pharmacist.
➽ New York -- Marcy Shumway My first trip to New York I found a red eye flight for crazy cheap because it was the anniversary of 9/11 and nobody wanted to risk flying. So, of course I bought the ticket, but made sure not to tell my family because I didn’t want them to worry. So, I'm in New York, standing in a subway car and hear someone say, “Marcy?” I ignore it because, well I’m in New York with a crowd of people and assume it’s not about me. Then a couple more times, “Marcy!” “Marcy Shumway!” My travel buddy looks at me in shock and I look around to discover I’m standing right next to Maureen Olsen, her husband and a couple of their kids!! How fun to see them! But also, I felt like I was busted; like a teenager in Blanding trying to get away with something. (News travels fast. Your parents WILL find out)
I asked them not to tell my parents I was there on the anniversary of 9/11.
My Arizona friends had an ongoing joke about how I was from this tiny town but every time we left Arizona we ran into someone I knew.Maureen's response: Ha ha remember I reassured you I no longer lived in Blanding so your secret was safe lol!
➽ New York -- Lana Arthur In September of 2007 I went to New York City on a girl's trip with my old college roomies. It was my first time ever visiting New York. Late one evening we got on an incredibly crowded subway, standing room only, and as I start people watching and looking around me I see another family from Blanding sitting in the seats right behind me, hahahahaha... Seriously there's several million people in New York and I get on the subway with Blanding people.Maureen Arthur Olsen Happened to us in NYC as well. With Marcy Shumway!Carol Brewer And to in Disneyland with the Kent Adair family!Lana Arthur I have also found that if you enter a Wal Mart within a 500 mile radius of Blanding you will run into your neighbor 
Jared Kilgrow Walmart, the mall and Sam's club is where I bump into most people from Blanding or Monticello. Maureen Arthur Olsen Our son Kris and his wife Emily were on the Subway In NYC, on a Saturday with millions of people and who gets on the train, Marcy Shumway- She now lives with her husband in Thailand but was living in Arizona at the time of the surprise meeting! 
Kristian and our daughter in law lived in Connecticut as did our eldest, Tammy so we made lots of trips out there and lo and behold we picked that day to be down in NYC. And out of the blue here is the beautiful Marcy Lela! 😊 Except Stephen and I recall it different ha ha. We were on the train, it stopped at a station and you got in and said, "Brother or Mr Olsen!" And I started yelling, really yelling, "Marcy Shumway, Marcy Shumway, what the heck are you doing in NYC?! "Then you told the way it happened above to get you there and swore me to secrecy NOT to tell your parents. Even after l assured you I would not and we didn't !
➽ Chicago, Il -- Joy Howell Back in the 70's (?) Clint was at O'Hara airport in Chicago when a Navajo man said, "Hey...I know you! Your dad has the trading post in Bluff!"➽
Nauvoo, IL -- Norman Lyman Margie and I, along with my sister, Yvonne, and brother in law, Lynn, went on a church tour and were constantly meeting up with some one that knew some one from Blanding or San Juan County. The best experience we had with this phenomenon took place as we pulled in to our camp site in Nauvoo. We noticed that there was only one other camper there. As we began setting up, a man came over and asked where in Utah we were from (he had noticed our license plates). When we said that we were from Blanding, he said that his family lived in Blanding when he was a very young boy. We started looking into the connection between the Lake family and the Lyman’s or Wright‘s and found that we were closely related. Some of his family is buried in Blanding . His aunt was married to Lee Shumway’s (first wife), and when we figured it all out his Great Grandmother (Charlotte Molten) is my Great Grandmother, Yvonne’s as well. His father’s best friend in Blanding was my Uncle Clisbee Lyman. The Lake family later moved to Oakley Utah where he and his family still live.➽ Chicago -- Jason Homedew When I first moved to Chicago. the wife of one of the councilors in my bishopric was from Monticello. When I had to give my wife a blessing I asked him for advice. He told me a story about his first blessing. His son was in the hospital. I asked him when and what hospital? It was May 8, 1982 at the Monticello. I told him I was born May 3rd 1982 in the Monticello hospital! Also one of the long time librarians in our ward had a mission companion from Blanding. A guy I was in the young men's presidency with also had a brother who served his mission in Blanding. If anyone knows/knew Elder Grisham, let me know.
➽ Europe, Paris --Jody Shumway Lyman When I was in college my roommates thought it was uncanny how everywhere we would go someone knew someone from Blanding or we would run into someone from Blanding. It became kind of a running joke, with Blanding being referred to as the "Hub of the West" and the "Center of the Universe' etc. I was spreading Blanding pride for sure! After nursing graduation one of my roommates and I got Eurail passes and went backpacking through Europe. One Sunday we were in Paris and went to the Versailles Ward with some members we knew. The Bishopric was greeting people at the door of the church and asked where we were from. My roommate said Payson, Utah with no results. I said I was from Blanding, Utah and oh, the was great excitement then! With a thick French accent one of the men asked, "Do you know Pete Black? I have been to Blanding and ridden a plane with Scenic Aviation!!!" One of the Bishopric members had known Pete Black on his mission (he may have baptized him) and had actually been to Blanding. My roommate just shook her head, even across the ocean and in a foreign country I was running into people with Blanding connections. 😊
➽ China, Ohio --Eileen Mellor Davis I have to laugh because I run into people from Blanding and SJC all the time since moving to Lehi. My husband goes nuts because I run into people all the time. I have monthly encounters. I know when I was teaching in China there was a connection to someone in San Juan County, but I can't remember it sadly.
When I lived in Ohio, I was friends with a lady who knew Amelia (Larson Perkins?) at USU. There is a Laws family that is friends with my in-laws in Vancouver, Washington. The father grew up in Blanding.➽ Pocatello, Burley ID -- Steve Wozniak Just a few years ago we had a guest speaker from a different stake for our 5th Sunday lesson
Ran into Stephen S Olsen and Tara Dawn Olsen in Burley Idaho when I was picking up my kids. It was when they lived in Idaho. They were getting ready to visit an Elder from Blanding that was serving near BurleyHappened right before Christmas. A friend of a friend asked if I knew Bufaye and Lee Reynolds. Always a frequent occurrence. (They were from Idaho, too)Addendum by Janet: I had a strange reconnection with Bufaye and Lee last August 2017, (though they are both deceased). We were staying at Autumn's in-laws home in St. George, and I was cleaning off the counter, and there were old letters in the pile, addressed to Lee and Buffaye. Turns out they had owned the place before the Jeppson's bought it. I think the letters had been there for quite a while.➽ 
While living in Hawaii and working at Polynesian Cultural Center, I had a lot of Blanding encounters including you guys (Wilcoxes 2009) , Sunni and Dr. Jones. Several others I can not remember, but several times I would tell customers I was from Blanding I would get, "do you know?" I wrote a lot of them down in my journal of conversations with my Grandma. (I will have to find it.) When we attempted to move back to HI in 2015, my Mom and I were at PCC and we saw Liz McPherson and her mom there.
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| Elder Pugh and Elder Neville? in Renton, Washington |
➽ Renton, WA -- Mary Jean Welker (Rick Howell's daughter)Bumped into a couple of missionaries serving here in Renton, Washington. I'm not the only person in my ward with ties to Blanding either. Photo shows Elder Brandon Pugh. (Debbie and Delton's son) I suddenly can't remember what his first name is. He knows Dan and Heather's kids well. One of the Jack family grandsons served here several years ago. Told me Tara and Tamera were his aunts. In another funny twist, my sister-in-law, Phyllis Welker, did her student teaching in Blanding, back in the late 60s. ➽ Feb. 4, 2018 --Tonya Kay Forster When I first met my husband, his parents said a lady in the ward was from Blanding, it was Jane Black Gill who is Shan Redd's cousin. We now serve in primary together.
➽ Hawaii --Renee Pincock Peggy Sue texted us from Hawaii tonight, saying that they went go church this morning and Shaun Blake recognized her. (Shawn is Kermit and Virginia Blake's son, and works for the Univ. of Hawaii and his family lives there.)➽ Hawaii -- Norma MaddenMy grand daughter and family were living in Hawaii and were at a stake meeting when they met a new member. As they visited they found both their grandmothers lived in Blanding, across the street from one another and had grown up across the street when they were kid's. VerDonne Blake and Norma Madden.➽
Los Angeles -- Lindsay Palmer SmithI was in Los Angeles, CA at The Phantom of the Opera about 23 or so years ago, with some friends, we were talking before the show started. I had said something about Blanding. A few min. later I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked behind me and a lady said “Excuse me but I just happened to overhear you and your friends talking about Blanding” She then asked if we were from Blanding, Ut. I said we sure are she asked me if I knew the Pincock’s. I said yes! I can’t remember if she said she was Richard’s sister or sister in law. She said they had visited Blanding many times!➽ Woodbadge, CostCo. Nauvoo-- Patty Lyman My sister did Woodbadge training up in the Salt Lake area and one of her favorite new friends is one of Preston and Dorothy Nielson’s sons who is a lawyer up there. (Either Jens or Platt Nielson) We run into Jennifer Kurtz Jones all the time at Costco.We’ve run into Ronna and Danny. Tom and Karie Palmer and we shared our favorite date lunch/dinner the $1.50 hotdog .Yesterday it was Susanne Johnson and Davey Black. ➽ Vernal, Ut -- Michelle WheelerI was in the Vernal Temple in the baptistery getting ready to do some baptisms and a guy spots me from across the room and if I remember right it was Donny Laws. (Who lives in the Uintah Basin.)Another time I was with my friends work place, and someone was getting a drink and he knew who I was, However, I didn't recognize him but it was Jamie Laws. Lol.David Hickman's mom lives around here; Bruce Guymon is my Pharmacist.
I asked them not to tell my parents I was there on the anniversary of 9/11.
My Arizona friends had an ongoing joke about how I was from this tiny town but every time we left Arizona we ran into someone I knew.Maureen's response: Ha ha remember I reassured you I no longer lived in Blanding so your secret was safe lol!
Jared Kilgrow Walmart, the mall and Sam's club is where I bump into most people from Blanding or Monticello. Maureen Arthur Olsen Our son Kris and his wife Emily were on the Subway In NYC, on a Saturday with millions of people and who gets on the train, Marcy Shumway- She now lives with her husband in Thailand but was living in Arizona at the time of the surprise meeting! Kristian and our daughter in law lived in Connecticut as did our eldest, Tammy so we made lots of trips out there and lo and behold we picked that day to be down in NYC. And out of the blue here is the beautiful Marcy Lela! 😊 Except Stephen and I recall it different ha ha. We were on the train, it stopped at a station and you got in and said, "Brother or Mr Olsen!" And I started yelling, really yelling, "Marcy Shumway, Marcy Shumway, what the heck are you doing in NYC?! "Then you told the way it happened above to get you there and swore me to secrecy NOT to tell your parents. Even after l assured you I would not and we didn't !
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