TimManBlog

Surprises in Manti, Utah

June 30, 2024
(photos and memories from June 2012)
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In 1846, Brigham Young led his followers, the Mormons, from Nauvoo, Illinois, into the Rocky Mountains to resettle in the valley of the Great Salt Lake, establishing present-day Salt Lake City, Utah. Once their initial settlement was stable, Young and the other Mormon church elders sent some of their followers into the Wasatch Mountains, searching for hospitable locations where additional Mormon settlements could be established. The town of Manti was one of the earliest of those new Mormon settlements. Founded by George Washington Bradley and Isaac Morley, Manti (sometimes called “Manti City”) was named for a city mentioned in the Book of Mormon. The town of 3,500 is well-situated, happily nestled beneath the palisades of the Sanpete Mountains in central Utah, 125 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Like so many Mormon towns throughout Utah, Manti is a quiet, orderly place with wide, tree-lined streets.

The modern four-story hilltop Mormon Manti Utah Temple is the largest building in town by far.

Here are some homes, new and old, that I saw around town:

Manti is the seat of Sanpete County, Utah. The Sanpete County Courthouse is shown below.

I was shocked to see this poster on a local shop window along Main Street. References to something called “Rat Fink” seemed greatly out of place in this quiet, staid Mormon town.

What the heck is this? This seems like something straight out of California, not Utah.

I looked up “Rat Fink” in Wikipedia (all the links work, and will explain everything):

“Rat Fink is one of several hot rod characters created by artist Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, one of the originators of Kustom Kulture of automobile enthusiasts. Roth conceived Rat Fink as an anti-hero to Mickey Mouse.”

Rat Fink has its origins in California as I suspected. Ed “Big Daddy” Roth was born in Beverly Hills and grew up in the Los Angeles area, where he achieved fame for his artwork. Later in life, Roth married a girl from Manti and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1974. He spent the rest of his life in Manti, where he died in 2001.

The Rat Fink Reunion is now an annual event in Manti. Here is a link to the 2024 Rat Fink Reunion website.

I was in Manti on June 1, 2012, and I wrote the following note to mark the visit:

“Welcome June, welcome summer! Welcome heat! Welcome blue skies! Welcome little girls standing on tiptoes to buy ice cream with dollar bills begged from their grandfathers! Welcome teenage boys crossing Main Street on their lawnmowers, heading toward their next grass-cutting job. Memories are being made, both for them and for me.”

Good times, good times.

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A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.

All photos were taken by the author on June 1, 2012.

My lifetime hobby is traveling to all of America’s county courthouses, and each month, I post about a visit to a scenic or exciting county seat. It’s a hobby, and donations are greatly appreciated to help cover my costs.