Hyrum Clifton was born 13 January, 1891, at Dingle, Bear
Lake, Idaho. He was the sixth child of George and Alice
Marinda Neat Clifton. They were among the early pioneers
called in 1861 to settle that area.

When Hyrum was ten years old the Clifton family was called
by the Mormon Church to go north to help colonize and
build an irrigation canal in the western Canadian prairies.
They travelled by train and brought with them their cattle,
some seeds, and household items. They were met east
of Magrath where the train bridge had been washed out
by the spring flood. They were taken into Magrath by team
and wagons to their mother's sister, Emma Bennett's home.
They arrived in Magrath in March 1901. They obtained
land just south of the town, and purchased a building lot
in the town.

Hy, as he was known to all, had some schooling in Idaho,
and some in Magrath. He was very independent. He had
a fierce pride and a strong sense of self reliance so he
left home at the age of fourteen and went on his own.
He worked at the McIntyre ranch, the Eldridge ranch,
and the Peters ranch. During World War I he served
with the cavalry in the U.S. army. From 1923-25 he
worked for Bill Show in Montana. He also worked as
a guide in Glacier National Park for one or two summers.
He was a lover of cattle, horses, and the great outdoors.
He was an ardent rodeo fan; and in his younger years
participated in rodeo events.

In 1925 he purchased the Fred Ewing place in the Shanks
Lake area of Del Bonita and went there to live in a two-
roomed house. He also farmed his brother Lorraine's
homestead. He led a very simple and often lonely life but
it was a way of life that he loved. He gained a small herd
of Herefords and took great pride in building it up. For
many years his only mode of travel was his saddle pony.
Even after he purchased his first car and later on a truck,
he still relied on his saddle horse to get him out for mail
and urgent supplies during the winter months when he was
snowed in.

He, like his pioneering forefathers, earned his bread by the
sweat of his brow. He was a hard working man, and wanted
to be indebted to no one. He loved people, and teased the
children, but always generously shared what he had with
others. He endeared himself to old and young alike.

He could tell many stories of early days and often held young
people spellbound as he told about fighting prairie fires,
handling wild horses, or riding the open range in all kinds
of weather.

One time on one of the ranches the cow hands were trying
unsuccessfully to ride a bucking mule. Someone bet
Hy five dollars that he couldn't ride this animal around
the corral. Hy called the bet, mounted the mule, grabbed
a dried out cow hide off the corral, and held it back over
the mule's rump. The mule was so busy kicking at the hide
that he couldn't buck but ran and kicked all the way
around the corral. Hy won the bet.

In 1970 his health began to fail and he spent the winter
months in Lethbridge. He looked forward with eagerness to
the visits of his long time friends and neighbors from Del
Bonita and to the spring when he could return to his land.
However, he realized that the days when he could actively
farm had passed and he sold his land with the arrangement
that he could continue to live there. He spent the summer
of 1971 in Del Bonita but moved into Magrath in the late fall.
He died 6th February, 1972 and was buried in the family plot
in Magrath.

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