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them on their events. When I was very small, Governor and Mrs. Dern
used to pick up Mother and Dad at our house. We would see the Gover-
nors big Cadillac (UTAHONE on the license plate) driven by his chauf-
feur. Dad and Governor Dern and Mother would sit in the back seat and
sing all the old time songs together. Mrs. Dern would sit up in front with
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the Governor and his friends to drive down the highway singing, so she
would sit alone ahead.
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at these celebrations and accompany him around. It was, no doubt good
politics for the Governor to do so but he enjoyed it as well. Dad, of
course, developed a very wide acquaintanceship around the state with
citizens prominent in each community, plus he got to know many of the
large livestock owners.
In the 1920s and 1930s, political parties had a much stronger
role than today. At that time parties arrived at their platforms, which
embodied the major things that the party proposed that its candidates
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candidates pretty largely set their own programs and priorities. Candi-
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litical conventions. The direct selection of candidates by public voting,
as is now common, was unknown.
Political parties didnt have any political action committees that
raise the massive donations that we now see. The largest fundraiser
would be a big party held at the Saltair Resort on Great Salt Lake. The
event would include swimming in the Lake, barbecue sandwiches of
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friendly dealer. In those days, it was possible to get to Saltair by a rail-
road train that ran from a starting place opposite the Fairgrounds or
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ling airport to Saltair, a distance of about 18 miles. The Republican and
Democrat parties would, of course, have their big events on separate
dates. The road in those days was made of oiled gravel. If the County
Road Commissioner was a Democrat, you could bet that, accidentally
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