Smithfield keeps Health Days tradition alive and well

By Arie Kirk

April 30, 2007 | SMITHFIELD -- At 96 years, Lawrence Cantwell said he can still remember participating in the first Health Days parade. He marched through Smithfield as part of a harmonic band with the boys in his seventh-grade class.

That parade, which began only as an afternoon celebration, has evolved to become an annual weeklong event promoting good health.

This year's celebration is May 7-12. The days are packed with events including health screenings, fun runs, a Dutch oven cook-off, horse shows, a children's theater, music competitions, baseball games, fireworks and the traditional parade.

The chair of the Smithfield Health Days Committee, Eunice Dillon, said, "A lot of history is involved in Health Days. It's one of those things that enough people are born and raised in Smithfield that is it passed on from generation to generation to generation. If we weren't to have it, it would be like a calamity. People look forward to it every year. We usually have a few lost children but it's a tradition. We are Utah's Health City."

The decree from President Calvin Coolidge in 1925 to promote good health has unified the Smithfield community for 82 years and has become a much-anticipated celebration for residents.

Smithfield accepted Coolidge's call to encourage healthy lifestyles. However, as recorded by Cantwell, the town historian, Smithfield's city council "did not want to touch this hot potato" so the responsibility of organizing Health Day fell to the principal of Summit School, Sarah McCracken.

She decided on a theme of "100% O.K. Teeth" and made each student a "Crusader for Health." At the time, Cantwell was a student in McCracken's class. Upon hearing the theme, Cantwell said he feared he would have to have half of his teeth pulled in order to participate.

In "Smithfield . . . As a City on a Hill, A History of Smithfield, Utah 1859-2001," it said city officials were so impressed with the celebration, they decided to make it an annual event.

While it has grown to become a successful weeklong celebration promoting healthy lifestyles, Dillon said there are still things she would like to see improved.

She said she wants new Smithfield residents to have greater involvement in Health Days. She said it is important for them to participate because they are the generation that will be charged with continuing the tradition.

"I am trying to get people that have just moved here to be interested because I want kids to experience Health Days like I did when we would spend weeks planning what we were going to wear and when we used to have a dance and we practiced for weeks," Dillon said.

She said she would also like to see the teachers participate like they did in the past. Dillon said in recent years, teachers have had extra responsibilities thrust upon their shoulders, limiting their involvement.

Mayor Chad Downs said Smithfield is the only city in Utah that continues to celebrate Health Days.

"We are the only one in the state. Other cities have May Days but we are the only one to focus on health and well-being," Downs said. "Health Days is probably one of the oldest celebrations, aside from the Fourth of July and the 24th of July, celebrated continually in the valley."

He said the city was recently recognized for their efforts to maintain a healthy community.

Downs believes Health Days has maintained its original purpose of encouraging healthy living and has not just become a tradition for residents.

He said, "We haven't lost focus. It is more than just a celebration-we are promoting a healthy and informed citizenry. Over the years it has taken on more complete aspects of health from dental to total well-being."

This year's theme is "Healthy Smithfield, Happy Smithfield."

Dillon said a committee of 25 people has been planning the events for nearly a year. She encouraged all to attend, enjoy the fun and experience the sense of community.

"It's fantastic. It is usually where everyone gets their first sunburn," she said. "There is a loyalty in it and it's tradition."

MS
MS