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.
