I was born and raised in Utah for the most part. When I was one year old, my father was drafted into the military as a base doctor. Our family spent three years in Morocco, Africa at an Air Force base near Casablanca. After returning to Utah our family built a home in the Olympus Cove area in Hollady, Utah. I attended Oakridge Elementary, Churchill Jr. High, and Skyline High School.
During my senior year at Skyline, I had the privilege of being recruited for football scholarships in many schools across the country. It was a fun experience to travel to or meet others from many parts of the United States.
I did have fun with the whole recruiting experience. Tommy Hudspeth was the head football coach at BYU and under fire for a losing season the previous year. Lavelle Edwards was the assistant coach that personally recruited me and others in our area. Lavelle took me out three times to dinner and to see the facilities at BYU. I can say that he was not the most interesting of my recruiting coaches but I did like his concern for my family and my mother. He made a connection with my mom at that time that lasted throughout her life (She passed away in 1997).
My final decision to sign with BYU came when I learned that the track program was one of the top ten track programs in the nation producing many NCAA champions. I was still running track at Skyline at the time. I did not know the outcome of the track season and what I could produce in the way of possibly getting an athletic scholarship in track so I took the safe bet and signed my ‘letter of intent’ to play football at BYU.
Lucky for me, I did well in track taking state in the high and low hurdles. My goal to break the state records fell short on both races by one tenth of a second. Our Skyline 4 by 220 yard (880 relay) took state honors also. I later was offered a full track scholarship to BYU and accepted it. I was invited to run in AAU Track Meets during the summer of ’72. I was probably in the best physical shape of my life. Three weeks before I was supposed to report for football training in midsummer, I called Lavelle Edwards, who had just been named the new head football coach, and told him I had been offered a full ride track scholarship and would like to accept it and concentrate on track only. Lavelle was gracious and wished me luck.
I had great memories at BYU. One of my housemates (I lived in a rental house in Springville) and lifelong friend was a world class discus thrower. He was from Yugoslavia. At that time, Yugoslavia was under communist jurisdiction. I quickly learned how much I appreciated the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S.
One of the highlights of my track career was in my second year at BYU. The new track physicality at Arizona State was being dedicated. Jesse Owens (Gold Medalist in the 100 and 200 meter sprints in Berlin Germany in 1936) dedicated the track. I was part of BYU's 4 X 400 meter relay team. Inspired by perfect weather conditions and, of course, a new maroon tartan track, I found that I could compete at a world class level. I ran my leg of the race against an Olympian hopeful named Maurice Peoples. I was able to draft off him and stayed pretty much stride-for-stride. My split time was 47.2 seconds. I knew then that I could run faster than the time of the world record in my hurdle event. I just needed to find out how to manage 10 hurdles within that distance! My track career was cut short when I sustained a bad hamstring injury that dampened my ability to compete at a higher level.
Returning to Salt Lake I got an apartment and started a career at Rick Warner Ford as an electrical mechanic. I worked there for a few years and helped start a subsidiary business for Rick Warner called Horizon Sound. We installed stereo components for dealerships across Salt Lake County. We expanded the operation to include auto air condition, speed controls and other electrical components of car operations.
During this period of my life I met Janice Haymond. She was in the Skyline class of 1973. I did not know her personally in high school. I was friends with her twin sister Joyce. Janice was a LaNiche our senior year and I knew of her and had seen her perform at basketball games. My lifelong friend since the first grade dated Joyce after high school and lined me up with Janice. After a few years of dating, Janice finally gave me an ultimatum. Marry or move on! I chose to marry and did so in the summer of 1976.
Janice and I were only married for about six weeks when we found out that we would be expecting our first child. Ann was born May 19th, 1976. I went from a bachelor to a father in less than one year. It was a big change for me. I came from a family with 8 brothers and sisters. I loved children and eventually wanted a large family but never planned starting this venture at age of 23. Other children followed with Crystal born November 14th, 1979, Brad born June 9th, 1983 and finally Brett born February 15th, 1987.
After moving out of the triplex I owned near the University of Utah, Janice and I purchased a home in Sandy Utah in April 1979. I left my job with Rick Warner Ford (Horizon Sound) to briefly sell computers and computer accounting services to professionals.
With this experience in accounting, I started a small side business called D & J Bookkeeping Services and did general accounting and tax returns. I prepared many tax returns for airline pilots and flight attendants for Western Airlines. I turned over these accounts to a friend when I became very busy starting my concrete career by introducing ‘garden curbing’ to the Salt Lake City area.
I ran this business (Barton Decorative Curbing) until 2005 installing decorative garden curbs in over 3,000 homes and business in the Salt Lake area. I have kept up my concrete contractor’s license and still take on jobs from commercial accounts including my biggest account with the VA Hospital.
I obtained my real estate license in 2005 and currently work at Time Real Estate and Development. I quickly learned that I had to create my own market to be successful. I was able to develop a subdivision in 2007 in South Jordan called River Ridge Estates. Moving out the farmers and making this venture work took over a year but it finally happened and a sixteen lot neighborhood was formed. Recently I was involved in a new land sale that will become a 42 lot subdivision called Marcy’s Orchard in American Fork, Utah. Currently we are selling numerous land projects and getting them ready for developers.
Janice and I now enjoy being grandparents of my daughter Crystal’s kids Riley (March 28th, 2003), Brandi (June 11th, 2004), Megan (July 17th, 2007) and Victoria (March 31, 2012). Also now grandparents to Ann’s twins Lincoln and Abby that were born June 6th, 2011. We are called “Boppa” and “Mema”.
Our family has had its share of trials. My youngest son Brett was almost killed in a ‘bullet bike’ accident in October 2009 and was on life support for a time. He luckily recovered and was accepted to OHSU dental school in Portland, Oregon. He started last September. My daughter Crystal graduated from the Western Governors University with honors and is now pursuing a master’s degree. She is currently teaching 4th grade at a charter school in Ivins, Utah where she lives. In April of 2012 her husband, only 33 years old, was killed while paragliding with my son Brad.
My oldest daughter Ann is an assistant professor at Salt Lake Community College. Brad is a loan officer in Salt Lake. He is an avid outdoors person and enjoys paragliding, snowmobiling, kite boarding and flying Radio Control aircraft with his father.
Janice and I are now 'empty nesters'. We enjoy traveling. We love to ride roller coasters and any other wild rides in amusement parks. We love to boat and ride our wave runners. Riding ATV's up in the mountains is also a favorite pastime. I have kept up a 'boyhood' hobby and fly model aircraft and enjoy doing it with my family.
I am the webmaster on several web sites including one for my siblings and their families that includes family blogs and numerous family history files. The website keeps my eight sibling and their families up to date on each other’s lives.
I am also the web administrator for my 1972 classmates at Skyline High School in Salt Lake City. This site keeps my classmates in touch with each other and enables them to chat online and share family pictures and experiences. This site had over 150, 000 page views just in the first nine months! This has been so much work but resulted in new friendships and rekindle old ones.
Life is never perfect but generally life for the Barton family is really great. The struggles we have encountered have made us stronger people in many cases. The life tests we encounter may seem unbearable at times but if we take one step at a time, I think, we can all get through it.
I loved the attitude of my mother. Though she felt betrayed from a marriage marred with infidelity and betrayal, compounded with the struggles of MS (Multiple Sclerosis), she managed to keep a positive attitude and 'endured' to the very end. Her example taught me to 'never give up'.
With the 'prodding' by many friends to tell a great story about her, I wrote and published the book 'Dealing with Goliath' sub titled 'A Test of Faith and Endurance'. The book outlines my family's struggles in the late 1960's and the timeline covers four days during my sophomore year at Skyline. The book is a tribute to my mother and all proceeds are donated to the MS Society. If you are interested in reading this 200 page book you can find it on most online bookstore web sites. You can also find it through my publisher, Xlibris Publishing, on the web at www.dealingwithgoliath.com.
I am truly a blessed person. I have great health which is very important to me. I love my life and career. Many choice experiences and friendships have formed as a result of being a Realtor®. I thoroughly enjoy working with people in helping them with their real estate needs. I look forward to work with you and in the process get to know you a little better so that I can properly represent you as your Realtor®!
