Community
Explore all episodes, stories, people, and quotes related to community.
Stories (23)
Charlene Freestone
Six Children, One Minivan, and a Wooden Box
At a child safety checkpoint in 2021, Charlene helped a family with six children in a seven-seat minivan. One child was on a secured wooden box. The family had daisy-chained lap extender belts through the outer car seats. Charlene and another technician spent over an hour arranging new seats, only to learn the mother was pregnant and needed room for a newborn. They had to start over completely. The experience became a career turning point.
Charlene Freestone
Grief Turned Into Safety Work
Charlene mentions a man in his 50s who became involved in child passenger safety after losing his daughter in a car accident. He used his grief constructively, becoming a volunteer for Zero Fatalities and eventually a certified CPST. He's also trilingual, making him an invaluable resource for families facing language barriers.
Charlene Freestone
You Have to Make Your Own Community
After moving into a house with a young child in Lehi, Charlene felt deeply lonely and told her mother. Her mother responded directly: community would not simply find her — she needed to create it. Charlene began organizing playgroups, teaching babywearing, and eventually helped form a nonprofit chapter of an international babywearing organization. That advice became the operating philosophy of her life in Lehi.
Mark Johnson
Parents in Tears — Children Who Can't Afford to Stay in Lehi
Mayor Johnson describes a recurring, heartbreaking experience: parents sitting in his office crying because their children cannot afford to buy homes in the city where they grew up.
Ammon Childs
Door Knocking in the Age of Instagram
Ammon’s best leads are referrals. But he still knocks doors. After taking a listing, he walks the neighborhood with flyers, introduces himself, and has direct conversations with neighbors. That approach — low-tech, slightly uncomfortable, face-to-face — has produced real results. In a world of curated digital marketing, Ammon’s willingness to knock doors stands out. After 17 years and a strong referral network, he is still willing to do the unglamorous, basic work that most people avoid.
Phil Hanks
The Ukrainian Saints Who Arrived Afraid and Left Transformed
While serving at the Freiburg Germany Temple, Phil and Donna witnessed Ukrainian Saints arriving by the busload. Most were new members of the Church in Ukraine — a community that had only recently emerged from the Soviet era. They had no idea what to expect in the temple. They came afraid. Over four or five days — moving through baptisms for their ancestors, endowments, and sealings — Phil watched something change in them. 'By the time they left, there were tears and hugs.' He says it quietly but repeatedly: 'They were changed.' A community now scattered by war, this story preserves their early devotional life.
Andy Hadfield
The Coach Who Never Planned to Coach
Andy Hadfield's coaching journey began almost by accident. A friend — the head basketball coach at Lehi — asked if Andy would casually help out. What he thought would be 'popping in once or twice a week' turned into leading the sophomore basketball team. When that coach retired after one year, Andy thought his brief coaching chapter was over. Football players on his team introduced him to Coach Larson, who invited Andy onto the football staff after learning he'd played college ball. Andy said yes. He ended up coaching both basketball and football simultaneously for six years before committing fully to football — and eventually inheriting the head coaching role when Coach Larson retired.
Doug Webb
The 5 A.M. Doorbell
As a 10-year-old paperboy in Lehi, Doug Webb was late delivering a Sunday paper. The homeowner — someone Doug admired deeply — let his father know. The next week, Doug overcorrected in a very 10-year-old way: he rang the doorbell at 5:00 a.m. to prove the paper had arrived on time. When confronted, he panicked and denied it — but his dad pointed out the obvious. Decades later, Doug taught that family's grandchildren at Lehi High. During difficult years of school growth and construction, that family supported him and told others: 'Doug's working on it. We're okay.' The circle closed across two generations.
Doug Webb
Four Years of Construction at Lehi High
For four consecutive years, Lehi High School was a construction zone. The design-build reconstruction — constrained by a tight campus footprint — required creative collaboration between teachers, administrators, architects from Naylor Wentworth, and the Alpine School District. Neighbors across the street endured years of dust and mud with patience. Doug describes the experience as unexpectedly joyful, despite its difficulty. 'I wouldn't change that for the world. Everyone was so good to work with.' The result was a compact but beautiful modern campus — built by a community that showed up.
Paige Albrecht
Baby Land — A Place of Refuge Most People Don't Know About
Asked what she was most proud of in ten years of public service, Paige bypassed the fire stations and police building. She talked about Baby Land — a specially designated section of the Lehi Cemetery for infants, with a beautiful statue. Her nephew and his wife lost their baby and found it there. 'That's when you know you live in a community that cares — even when nobody's watching.'
Paige Albrecht
Trees at Wines Park — Planted for People They'd Never Meet
Reading old issues of the Lehi Free Press, Paige discovered that a hundred years ago, families could sponsor a tree at Wines Park for a dollar or two. Not Christmas trees — the actual trees now standing in the park. Families who didn't have much gave what they could, knowing the trees would outlast them. Many of their descendants still live in Lehi.
Paige Albrecht
A Canceled Softball League and the Birth of a Public Servant
Paige bought her husband a softball team for Christmas — wrote a poem and gave him his own roster. For a few years it was wonderful. Then the league was canceled. She researched, went to city council, stood at the podium, and left feeling defeated. But she stayed for the whole meeting. And the next. For eight years, before holding any office, she attended city council and Planning Commission meetings every week — simply because the process fascinated her.
Paige Albrecht
A Promise Kept: The Softball League Returns After Ten Years
Ten years after the men's softball league was canceled, Paige posted a photo of her oldest son playing on his own softball team in the same league. The park space materialized. The lights went up. Even the mink farm moved. 'Promise kept,' she says. She was careful to note she had almost nothing to do with it — it was departments, staff, years of planning, and many unseen contributors.
Paige Albrecht
Buying the 1899 Brick Home — Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
When the house next door — a 1899 brick building — went up for sale and out-of-state investors were likely to demolish it for duplexes, Paige and her husband bought it. 'If we want to preserve old Lehi, we have to put our money where our mouth is.' Weekends refinishing floors and repointing brick is the price of that commitment.
Lara Bangerter
William Hadfield's Christmas Package — A Small Kindness That Changed Everything
For twenty years, William Hadfield drove his postal wagon in a figure-eight through Lehi. One Christmas Eve, a package arrived and he felt strongly it shouldn't wait. After dark, he delivered it to a poor family whose son had disappeared. The package was from the son — gifts for his siblings, and proof to his parents that he was alive.
Lara Bangerter
George Goates and the Sugar Beets — A Story About What Lehi Is Made Of
In October 1918, during the Spanish flu epidemic, George Goates of Lehi lost four family members in one week. He made multiple trips to Ogden to bring family members home for burial, built the coffins himself, and helped prepare burial clothes. At week's end, he and his surviving son went to the sugar beet field — and found that their neighbors had already harvested every last beet, anonymously, without being asked. It was the first time George cried all week.
Lara Bangerter
The Book Brigade — Lehi Moves a Library by Hand
When Lehi needed to move its library collection from one building to another, the community formed a human chain and passed books hand to hand until every volume had been relocated. No trucks, no professional movers — just neighbors standing together.
Paige Albrecht
Baby Land — A Place of Refuge Most People Don't Know About
Asked what she was most proud of after a decade in public service, Paige bypassed fire stations and park projects. She talked about Baby Land — a special section of the Lehi Cemetery for infants, with a beautiful statue, created during her time in office. Her nephew and his wife lost their baby and found comfort there. "That's when you know you live in a community that cares — even when nobody's watching."
Paige Albrecht
A Canceled Softball League and the Birth of a Public Servant
Paige bought her husband a softball team for Christmas — complete with a poem she wrote as an English major. For a few years the team played in the Lehi men's softball league and everyone loved it. Then one year she went to sign them up and was told the league was canceled. She went to city council. Nothing happened. But she stayed for the whole meeting — and then the next one, and the next. For eight years before holding any office, she attended meetings every week simply because the process fascinated her.
Paige Albrecht
Buying the 1899 Brick Home — Preserving Old Lehi with Personal Sacrifice
When a 1899 brick home next door to Paige's downtown Lehi house went on the market and she learned out-of-state investors planned to demolish it for duplexes, she and her husband bought it. "If you want to control what happens on a piece of property, the very best way is to own it yourself." Mystery jars in the crawl space included.
Paige Albrecht
Trees Planted for People They'd Never Meet — Wines Park and Generational Sacrifice
Reading old issues of the Lehi Free Press, Paige discovered that a hundred years ago, families could sponsor a tree at Wines Park for a dollar or two — not for themselves, but for the people who would sit under them decades later. Many of their descendants still live in Lehi. Many who enjoy the trees today have no idea a struggling family planted one for them a century ago.
Paige Albrecht
Cancer, Purpose, and the Hardest Lesson
During triple-negative breast cancer treatment, Paige made a deliberate choice: keep city council, defer everything else. Her husband believed her sense of purpose kept her alive. But the biggest lesson she took from the experience was unexpected — the hardest thing is not having cancer yourself, but loving someone who does.
People (6)
Andy Hadfield
Head Football Coach, Lehi High School · Business Owner · Lifelong Lehi Resident
Andy Hadfield is the head football coach at Lehi High School, named to the position in December 2024 after serving 10 years as an assistant under Coach Larson. He also owns a local lawn care company. A lifelong Lehi resident whose family roots in the community run generations deep, Andy came to coaching almost accidentally — invited by a friend to help with basketball, then recruited onto the football staff. His coaching philosophy centers on process over results, compassionate teaching, and community as a shared responsibility for raising young people.
Doug Webb
Former Principal, Lehi High School · Agriculture & Science Teacher · Lifelong Lehi Resident
Doug Webb is a lifelong Lehi resident who spent 25 years connected to Lehi High School — four as a student, eight as an agriculture and science teacher, seven as assistant principal, and several as principal. After teaching at Copper Hills High School and completing his career at Oak Canyon Junior High, he returned to lead the school he grew up in. He also served in faith leadership, becoming the same kind of mentor figure to others that Russ Fell had been to him.
Lara Bangerter
Manager, Lehi Historical Society & Archives
Lara Bangerter is the manager of the Lehi Historical Society & Archives, where she has spent over seven years preserving, organizing, and sharing the history of Lehi, Utah. A journalist by training, she joined the Society shortly after its founder passed away and has built it into a living archive of 7,000+ personal files, thousands of photographs, and one-of-a-kind community artifacts.
Mark Johnson
Mayor of Lehi, Former City Council Member, Engineer & Business Owner
Mayor Mark Johnson is an engineer-turned-civic-leader who grew up in Pleasant Grove and chose Lehi as his home. After losing two City Council elections, he was appointed to the Planning Commission, eventually joined the Council, served 12+ years, then reluctantly ran for mayor — winning the general election by an 18-point swing from the primary.
Paige Albrecht
Lehi City Council Member, Attorney, Community Advocate
Paige Albrecht is a Lehi City Council member, attorney, and passionate advocate for public service, historic preservation, and community building. A military family background that took her from Hawaii to Montana to Connecticut gave her a deep desire to give her own children a true hometown — which she found in Lehi, where she has lived for over 22 years.
Phil Hanks
Grandson of Ephraim Hanks · Mission President (Samoa) · Temple President (Samoa) · Church Education System Leader · Stake President · Senior Missionary (Ukraine, Freiburg) · Lehi Resident
Phil Hanks is 92 years old and the grandson of pioneer rescuer Ephraim Hanks. He served a mission in Samoa, returned to teach there, and was called at age 28 to preside over the Samoa Mission. He spent decades in the Church Educational System, served as stake president, managed CES budgeting and facilities, and then — after retirement — served missions in the Church Office Building, Ukraine (twice), the Freiburg Germany Temple, and as temple president in Samoa. He settled in Lehi in 2011, near his son Alan and daughter Lisa.
Quotes (73)
"You need to make your own community. It's not going to find you."
Charlene Freestone
Helping Parents Leave Safer Than They Arrived
"We are not meant to do this life alone."
Ryan Harding
Get Rich Slowly — Mike O'Day & Scott Clark
"Say what you believe and be willing to say what you don't know."
Mark Johnson
Building Lehi — Mayor Mark Johnson on Growth, Civic Service, and the People Who Make a City Work
"I've had people sit in my office in tears because their kids can't afford anything here."
Mark Johnson
Building Lehi — Mayor Mark Johnson on Growth, Civic Service, and the People Who Make a City Work
"We all have the same goal."
Mark Johnson
Building Lehi — Mayor Mark Johnson on Growth, Civic Service, and the People Who Make a City Work
"Don't think you're not the growth."
Mark Johnson
Building Lehi — Mayor Mark Johnson on Growth, Civic Service, and the People Who Make a City Work
"Best thing you can do in this town is just be kind to one another."
Mark Johnson
Building Lehi — Mayor Mark Johnson on Growth, Civic Service, and the People Who Make a City Work
"Stay faithful and serve to the best of your abilities wherever you live."
Phil Hanks
I’m Ready Now — Phil Hanks on Pioneer Legacy, a Life of Service, and What 92 Years of Faith Looks Like
"The ability to love people."
Phil Hanks
I’m Ready Now — Phil Hanks on Pioneer Legacy, a Life of Service, and What 92 Years of Faith Looks Like
"Just love the people. Don’t be afraid to give correction in the right way."
Phil Hanks
I’m Ready Now — Phil Hanks on Pioneer Legacy, a Life of Service, and What 92 Years of Faith Looks Like
"Communication is a great thing — disagree in a nice manner."
Phil Hanks
I’m Ready Now — Phil Hanks on Pioneer Legacy, a Life of Service, and What 92 Years of Faith Looks Like
"People were willing to let me recover — and that made all the difference."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"If we take care of each other, we're going to be okay."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"Change can be good and it can be hard at the same time."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"The hardest part of leadership is slowing down enough to take care of people."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"Get involved — it's a great place."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"I wouldn't consider myself a pillar, but I sure love the community."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership & a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"For every negative, there's a positive."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"That's when you know you live in a community that cares — even when nobody's watching."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"I really wanted my kids to have a hometown."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"It's not a them or a they. It's us. We are the government."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"If you want to control what happens on a piece of property, the very best way is to own it yourself."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"I'd love to say it was some noble cause, but I was ticked off."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"We're enjoying the fruits of probably other people's labors."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"The hardest thing is not to have cancer yourself, but to love someone who has cancer."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could continue to carry on that spirit?"
Lara Bangerter
Keeping the Memory of Lehi Alive — Lara Bangerter on the Lehi Historical Society
"We make people happy every day with what we've got."
Lara Bangerter
Keeping the Memory of Lehi Alive — Lara Bangerter on the Lehi Historical Society
"We collect, preserve, organize, protect, and share anything and everything Lehi."
Lara Bangerter
Keeping the Memory of Lehi Alive — Lara Bangerter on the Lehi Historical Society
"If you understand how people have behaved before, it can inspire you to behave similarly."
Lara Bangerter
Keeping the Memory of Lehi Alive — Lara Bangerter on the Lehi Historical Society
"Small things grow into big things."
Lara Bangerter
Keeping the Memory of Lehi Alive — Lara Bangerter on the Lehi Historical Society
"There's a lot to be proud of living in Lehi."
Lara Bangerter
Keeping the Memory of Lehi Alive — Lara Bangerter on the Lehi Historical Society
"By being normal and just trying to live your best life, in the end it's quite impressive."
Lara Bangerter
Keeping the Memory of Lehi Alive — Lara Bangerter on the Lehi Historical Society
"Every life should be documented."
Lara Bangerter
Keeping the Memory of Lehi Alive — Lara Bangerter on the Lehi Historical Society
Community Connections
Stories, people, and ideas that connect across the archive — ranked by shared themes, guests, places, and topics.
Related People
(4)Andy Hadfield
Head Football Coach, Lehi High School · Business Owner · Lifelong Lehi Resident
Doug Webb
Former Principal, Lehi High School · Agriculture & Science Teacher · Lifelong Lehi Resident
Lara Bangerter
Manager, Lehi Historical Society & Archives
Mark Johnson
Mayor of Lehi, Former City Council Member, Engineer & Business Owner
Related Stories
(4)Cancer, Purpose, and the Hardest Lesson
Paige Albrecht
Trees Planted for People They'd Never Meet — Wines Park and Generational Sacrifice
Paige Albrecht
Buying the 1899 Brick Home — Preserving Old Lehi with Personal Sacrifice
Paige Albrecht
A Canceled Softball League and the Birth of a Public Servant
Paige Albrecht
Related Quotes
(4)"You need to make your own community. It's not going to find you."
— Charlene Freestone
"We are not meant to do this life alone."
— Ryan Harding
"Say what you believe and be willing to say what you don't know."
— Mark Johnson
"I've had people sit in my office in tears because their kids can't afford anything here."
— Mark Johnson