DUP Queen was first Miss Rodeo Utah

OGDEN — When she was just a young teenager, Karen Neuenschwander Gall bought her first horse named Duchess with her hard-earned babysitting money.

“I began riding horses at the age of 5 with my best friend Connie Jones,” she said. “Her father was Earl Jones and he was a member of the posse. When he bought another horse, I just had to have the horse I had been riding, so I bought her with my babysitting money.”

In 1955, Gall entered the Miss Pioneer Days Sweetheart contest and won. Later that summer, she became the first Miss Rodeo Utah.

This year, Gall will once again be recognized Monday during the Ogden Pioneer Days Grande Parade after she and three other local women were named this year’s royalty by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers. The parade will begin at 9 a.m. and will take place along Washington Boulevard, running north between 31st and 20th streets.

“This is a really unique situation this year,” said Marti Clayson, president of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneer Museum. “All four of the ladies this year are incredible women. Karen’s story is very distinctive because she was the first Miss Rodeo Utah and it’s so neat to have her be a winner as a young contestant and now returning to the seat as an older winner.”

Gall will be joined by other royalty winners Gayla Lloyd Dye, Rose Mary Holley Breitweiser, and Rosemary Wangsgard Waite.

“Each of the ladies really sent detailed information this year about their pioneer heritage, even more so than their church or DUP involvement,” Clayson said. “They all have very strong connections to their pioneers and each story has something heartbreaking, something to be proud of and so much sacrifice.”

Gall is a descendant of Lorin Farr, who served as Ogden’s first mayor.

“I always thought that was kind of neat,” Gall said.

Gall was born in 1937 and grew up in North Ogden. She said she has always been an avid animal lover, always having dogs, cats, and her horse throughout her life.

Gall graduated from Ogden High School and Weber College, now Weber State University. She married Bert Gall and together they had two children. In 1999, she joined the DUP and is a member of Camp Purple Sage.

Breitweiser was born in Ogden in 1937. She graduated from WSU with a degree in education and taught for 10 years in North Ogden. She and her husband, Jim, have four children. She joined DUP in 1999 and is a member of Camp Mt. Ogden in the Weber South Company.

Waite was born in Ogden in 1939. She and her husband, Wallace, have four children. Because of her love for the arts, she has taught many dance classes and art lessons.

Dye was born in 1933 in Ogden. She was part of the Brigham Young University School of Nursing’s first graduating class. She and her husband, Rulon, are the parents of six children.

“We are really grateful Ogden Pioneer Days continue to recognize and be mindful of these women,” Clayson said. “They are all wonderful and we want them to know they are valued, treasured, and loved.”

Each royalty member’s bio can be found at ogdenpioneerdays.com.

Royalty Photos

The Daughters of Utah Pioneers is dedicated to perpetuating the names and achievements of those men, women, and children who founded Utah.

You can find stories and photos at Ogden Pioneer Days.

Gayla Lloyd Dye

Karen Neuenschwander Gall

Rose Mary Holley Breitweiser

Rosemary Wangsgard Waite

24th of July (2023)

The parade was on a Monday this year starting at 9:00 am. Our DUP royalty rode in a carriage near the front of the parade. Afterward, the public headed to the DUP museum for free lemonade and cookies. They could sit in the shade and listen to fiddlers play, dress up as pioneers, or participate in a stick pull.

Royalty Events

The Ogden Pioneer Days Devotional was held on July 16, 2023, in the Ogden Tabernacle. This special spiritual experience featured guest speaker, Elder Kyle S. McKay General Authority Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church Historian and Recorder, and Executive Director of the Church History Department. Our DUP royalty got a chance to pose with the current Miss Rodeo.

The 24th of July featured the parade and special luncheon at the DUP museum.

2023 DUP Royalty

Karen Gall, Rosemary Waite, Rose Breitweiser,  Gayla Dye

Karen Neuenschwander Gall 

Karen was born in June 1937 at the old Dee Hospital in Ogden to Clarence and Claire Neuenschwander. The family moved to North Ogden when Karen was beginning elementary school. Always an animal lover, Karen learned to ride horses and bought her first horse with babysitting money.

Karen graduated from Ogden High in 1955. She entered a contest and became Miss Ogden Pioneer Days Sweetheart. That same summer the first Miss Rodeo Utah contest was held. Karen entered the contest and became the first Miss Rodeo Utah!

After graduating from Weber College, Karen married Bert W. Gall, Jr. and moved to Chicago, Illinois where Bert was in dental school. Upon completing dental school, Karen’s family moved to northern California where they lived for 35 years. Bert and Karen have 2 children, a son Jeff and a daughter Erin.

Karen served as ward and stake Relief Society President in Fair Oaks and Rocklin, California. Bert and Karen served a mission in the Roseville California Mission. Bert retired from dentistry and the family moved back to Ogden in December 1998.

Karen is a descendant of Lorin Farr. In 1850 Brigham Young called Lorin and his family to go to Ogden and take over the settlement of the area. Lorin assisted in laying out the city of Ogden and organizing Ogden’s first government. He was Ogden’s 1st Mayor, serving for 22 years. He was also the 1st President of the Weber Stake of Zion of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving until 1870.

Karen joined the Daughters of Utah Pioneers in 1999. She is a member of Camp Purple Sage where she has been the Camp Captain, teacher, and treasurer. Karen has also been the Vice President of the Weber Far South Center Company.

Gayla Lloyd Dye

Gayla Lloyd Dye was born in 1933 at the old Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah to Samuel N. Lloyd and Lureta Celia Harper.

Education has been important to Gayla. In 1956 she graduated as a Nurse from the B.Y.U. School of Nursing in the school’s 1st graduating class.

Gayla married Rulon V. Dye in 1958. They are the parents of 6 children, 31 grandchildren, and 26 great-grandchildren, with 3 more on the way. Gayla loves family parties that are big! They are a great way to all be together!

Thomas Harper, Gayla’s great-grandfather, emigrated from England to New Orleans in 1853 at age 22. The Perpetual Emigration Fund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints paid for Thomas’s voyage with the understanding that he would repay the fee with his future earnings. In Keokuk, Iowa Thomas joined the 61st Company of Pioneers in 1853 as a mule and ox team driver. Thomas married Hannah Jane Jones, an immigrant from Wales, in the Salt Lake Territory.

They moved first to Bountiful and then to Call’s Fort, north of Brigham’s Fort, where they raised crops and cattle. Thomas married Rachel S. Lewis as a 2nd wife and built her a log house in Call’s Fort for her to live in.

Gayla joined the Daughters of Utah Pioneers in 1986 as a member of Camp Easton in the Weber Far South Company. She has served as the Camp Captain and Historian, and as the Company President and Vice President.

Gayla has served as the Young Women’s President and ward and stake Relief Society President. Gayla volunteers at the Uintah Days celebration and at the Riverdale Senior Center where she teaches scrapbooking and card making.

Rosemary Wangsgard Waite

Rosemary Wangsgard Waite was born in Ogden, Utah in 1939 to Mary Clarke and Burns Wangsgard.

Rosemary married Wallace Waite in 1961. She has 4 children, 12 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren.

The Arts have always been important to Rosemary. She has taught many dance classes and art lessons. She was involved in 4-H activities. Rosemary enjoys supporting her grandchildren in their sports.

Harriet Teeples Clarke, Rosemary’s pioneer ancestor, was born in Michigan in 1830. Her family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1834 and moved to Missouri, to Nauvoo, Illinois, and to Iowa in 1846. After a bad marriage and the birth of a son, Harriet joined her parents in traveling to Utah. Harriet married Nathaniel Worden in 1852 and helped settle Provo Valley. In 1859 Harriet’s brother explored a little valley east of Ogden, building a log cabin on the North Fork River. Returning to Provo, he told his family about the beautiful valley called Ogden Hole. Harriet, Nathaniel, and their 6 small children moved to join him in the valley.

The winter was long and very cold. Nathaniel decided to leave for southern Utah. Harriet chose to stay, caring for her small family. In 1861 a young man, Francis Clarke, immigrated to Utah from England and found himself in the valley east of Ogden. Harriet and Francis married in 1867, eventually adding 2 boys to the family. Happily married and active in their community and church, Harriet died in

1911 at 81 years old and Francis passed in 1913.

Rosemary joined the Daughters of Utah Pioneers in 1985 as a member of Camp Eden, Weber North Center Company. She has served as Camp Captain and Company President.

Rosemary has served as a Primary teacher, in the Relief Society Presidency, and as the activity chair.

Rose Mary Holley Breitweiser

Rose was born in Ogden, Utah to Deloss Watson Holley and Almira Bartholomew Holley in 1937. Brigham Young asked Rose’s great-grandparents to settle in Slaterville. Rose was the “Farmer’s Daughter”, living on her parent’s farm in Roy. She enjoyed a rural life with rural responsibilities.

Rose married James Russell “Jim” Breitweiser in 1958. They have 4 children, 18 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.

Education has always been important to Rose. She attended Weber State

University when her children were small, graduating with a degree in Education. Rose taught elementary school in North Ogden for 10 years.

Almira Mesick Green is Rose’s pioneer ancestor. At about 4 years old, Almira and her father Peter Mesick left her mother and a sibling to join the gathering Saints in Missouri, then onto Nauvoo. They lived at the home of Hyrum Smith at the time of his martyrdom. Her father joined the Mormon Battalion, leaving Almira in the care of a good family, who lived that winter in a cave in Winter Quarters on the bank of the Missouri River. After fulfilling his service with the Battalion, Peter

came back to Winter Quarters with Brigham Young and was reunited with Almira. They traveled together, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in the fall of 1848.

Almira eventually married Ammon Green Sr. and raised a family of 13 children, residing in Weber County. She was very well thought of. Almira died in 1892 at the age of 54.

Rose joined the Daughters of Utah Pioneers in 1999. She is a member of Camp Mt. Ogden in the Weber South Company. Rose has served as Camp Captain, secretary, treasurer, and lesson leader. She has also been the Weber South Company President and Vice-President and on the Weber County DUP Museum Board.

Active in Church, Rose has taught Sunday School classes, been a Young Women advisor, and served in the Relief Society Presidency. Rose and Jim served as greeters for 7 years at the Conference Center and Tabernacle at Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

24th of July Parade and Pioneer Devotional (2022)

 

And the winner is...

 

Of all the lovely photos taken of our queens, this one was selected to hang in the museum.