Skyhaven Acres

by Janice Davis

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Posted on December 16, 2016 at 9:00 AM

At the 2009 Owners meeting, on August 1st, I listened as Janice Davis recounted when she and her husband, Evan Davis, acquired the property for Skyhaven Ranch. Morris Cook, the original owner, was in the business of having sheep and using mountain land as their summer range. She said that Morris wanted to get in the cattle business and in order to get the capital necessary to buy cattle, he sold some of his land to the Davis family.

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This photo of Janice Davis is from 2016

C. Janice Davis memories: After buying Skyhaven, we came in on Memorial Day. We put up our tent and tried to find dry wood, none. The next day it rained, we stayed in our tent all day. Next morning, it had snowed-our tent started to leak. We finally got our truck down to Cook's Cabin and spent the night there, warm. We had to cover the road, where springs caused deep mud, with boughs and sticks and finally got back home. We used to have to put the fence up in the spring, and take it back down in the fall. It took a week each time and we had many adventures. After Evan died we decided not to bother, hence stray sheep and flocks.

Ernest L. Wilkinsen, who later became President of BYU, won the case for the Huntington Irrigation Company to take over all the springs and streams in the area that filled the reservoirs above Huntington. We joined a group who were suing to get their own water back. We got one cabin's use on Sealy Springs. where we take our water out now but we felt we should buy shares in their company as well.

Evan and I were in our late forties with Ewan our youngest about 7, Curtis was 12, Dawn 14, Britton 16, and Janet in college 18. As of 2011, we have 10 grandchildren, and 11 great grand children.

One year, Evan and I and Ewan went up to Skyhaven in the fall to cut a Christmas tree. As we walked up Staker Creek we saw a tree with tall legs only showing behind. As we talked about it, a moose walked out looking at us. Ewan had on a bright red jacket-though color blind, that moose charged straight at us. Ewan raised his saw and yelled as loud as he could. The moose turned about 10 feet from us and went on his way. Ewan was especially shook up and worked the rest of the day without seeing the moose again.

Janice passed away near the age of 90 years old, in November 2017. Click here for her obibituary.

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