Simpson Steel Fabricators and Erectors, Inc.

On a recent auto trip I was explaining how Newt began his own business and I was asked to write it down. Here are the results as I remember them.
Newt became a skilled welder through his experience in the Navy during WWII. After the war he worked for several companies but felt frustrated that his ideas weren't implemented as fast as he thought they should be and he harbored the desire to become his own boss. He built several boat trailers using axles salvaged from old cars. This he did in the yard or driveway of his home on West Temple. Besides the salvaged parts, he used steel pipe for the trailer's superstructure. In the 50's he began fabricating pipe handrail and for a time worked out of a quanset hut at about 100 West and 4400 South. He asked friends from work to help in their free time and that way developed business associations with men who would later become key to the business growth. A few that I recall are Jerry Clegg, Paul Palur, Heber Bishop, Bob Burr and later as the company took shape, John Ballou, Bjorn Saetrum, Roen Hale and Fred Richeda. Growth wasn't smooth and when the steelworkers went on strike around 1960 the company disbanded and the equipment moved into Newt's garage. For a time, Newt rented the portable welders he purchased from construction companies who prefered to sell their assets when the project was complete rather than move it to the next job or put it in storage. These welding machines became the equipment basis for his company as work expanded. He rented space on Mrs. Green's property behind the home on West Temple. That was about 1962 or 63. As the company grew, he moved operations to a rented building in North Salt Lake. It resided there for a year or two then proved too small and operations moved to the old Lang Company's truck shop along the Jordan River. Newt had worked for the Lang Company early in his career as did most of the others who became the basis for Simpson Steel. The new shop was spacious and clients like the oil companies, Kennecott, Utah Power and Hercules provided the work. Simpson Steel as it was known then and from that time forward also thrived on work subcontracted from other steel fabrication companies, primarily Titan Steel. Even the space in Salt Lake became too restricted and Newt found some property in Murray where an old brick-making company had abandoned operations leaving bins and hoppers and brick firing tunnels in disrepair. Newt's vision was to gut the processing building and convert it into his steel fabrication shop. The office/laboratory became the company office and it all grew from there. Utah Power was building coal fired power plants, the mining industry was growing in Utah and Nevada and three trona mining/processing plants were growing rapidly in Wyoming. The shop was directly across the railroad tracks from its competitor Titan Steel and workers from both companies could monitor the activities of the other by just gazing across the tracks. The other chief competitors were Mark Steel founded by Mark Markosian and Alpine Metals by Red Mays.

Pesky Little Brother

At a family reunion held in Washington in 1989, I asked Newt's sisters to relate some memories they had of my dad in his younger days. The one thing that really stuck in their memories was how much a big tease Newt was. Mayme and Mable (Newt's younger twin sisters) related that when they would be talking 'girl talk' and gossiping and telling all sorts of juicy secrets to each other, invariably, Newt would be hiding somewhere (under the bed, in the closet, back of the couch) and after he had an earful, would jump up and run off laughing at what he'd heard. One time he was under the bed while the twins and their friends were playing. He popped his head out and took off running, and teased them for years about what he overheard.
Mable remembered how Newt would rise early and noisily take the trash out from near their room while they were still trying to sleep. One visit with his brother-in-law Charles concluded with evening stories of the pranks they played as youths. Tipping outhouses was common and once Newt and his friends hoisted a neighbor's wagon or carriage onto the roof of his barn.
-From writings of Katie Clausen-

Arkansas Family

We children walked the mile and a half to school through fair weather and foul. I remember having frost-bitten feet from the severely cold winter weather. As we grew older, we also walked to late evening and night events in our rural community, such as church services, parties, ice cream suppers, pie suppers and the annual "Cap Tiller" silent western movies which were shown at the Stoney Point school house. It didn't matter if the country roads were lighted by a full moon or if there was no light at all, we had no difficulty since we had learned every crook and turn in the road. And it was safe in those days. We had no fear of being molested or harmed in any way as we walked in the dark. Though simple, those were enjoyable times.
Mama had a strong faith. It was not always possible for her to attend church regularly but she did when she could and read from the Bible often. One of the most pleasant memories of my childhood was of her reading Bible stories to us each night at bedtime. I learned a great deal about the Old Testament characters in particular from those bedtime experiences. This was a practice which I had good intentions of following with my own children, and I did make a start, but regrettably did not continue. Sad to say, the television got in the way. I feel indebted to Mama for setting a good example of strong faith and for encouraging us to be religious without pressuring us into any particular one. She and Daddy co-existed peacefully in a Methodist/Baptist relationship. (Extracted from 'A Tribute to my Mother, Bertha Freeman Simpson' by her daughter Mable Simpson Brown, April 1989)
Newt was a great concern to his mother as he left home as a boy and ended in Salt Lake City where he married a Mormon girl. You can imagine how this disturbed his mother who cherished her faith and considered Mormons little more than heathens. Newt didn't attend his wife's church often or any other for that matter but he did volunteer to assist with work projects and perform music. His smoking and occasional drinking binge kept him from converting to the LDS faith for about fifteen years. He was unable to stop smoking for very long though he was baptised and Temple endowed. Smoking no doubt contributed to the lung cancer that claimed his life.

Toys

Janet remembers a toy that Newt created for neighborhood children. It was an adaptation of one used by children as he was growing up. He rolled a strip of steel flat bar into a hoop then butt welded the ends. This formed a band very much like the ones used as tires on wagon wheels of earlier times. Next he bent another strip into a 'U' shape with about a two-inch throat and 3/4-inch lips. This he welded to a handle made of 1/4-inch steel round bar doubled back into a deep 'U' shape to form a handle. The handle was used to roll and guide the hoop around the yard, sidewalk or where ever. Because it was steel sliding on steel it made a terrible racket but it was challenging and fun and provided plenty of exercise. I believe he made two sets so you could challenge your friends to a race. Newt made other things too. One summer while playing softball, Newt broke his leg. Janet jumped off a slide and broke her leg too, so there were two invalids that summer. Newt had commercial crutches but they didn't have a size that would fit Janet so Newt cut a pair from wood and fitted them to her height. It was hillarious to watch father and daughter hobble around.
Newt bought an old Jeep pickup then decided he needed a camper to put on it for deer hunting. Newt decided the factory built campers weren't worth what they cost so he spent nearly every night one summer building one of his own. It could have been that the bed on the Jeep was smaller than most pickup beds and he couldn't buy a camper to fit. Come deer season he had a new camper to keep him warm and dry. He took the camper to Yellowstone one summer. A big brown bear strolled up to the driver side to beg for food. Genevieve wanted a picture of the bear so she got out of the passenger side and creeped around the back to take the picture. As she got to the back, Newt pulled forward leaving Gen nearly face to face with the bear. He got a good laugh from that prank but he paid dearly for the joke. I'll leave the rest to your imagination. Newt's sisters claim that he was full of pranks as a boy. While one sister was drawing water from the well, Newt would wait until she had it cranked nearly to the top then tease her until she released the handle to swat him which let the bucket fall back to the bottom.

What Did Simpson Steel?

Just like Charlie Steen who also was born in 1919 in Texas, Newt became involved in the uranium boom of the 1950s. He spent a summer working and maintaining a drill rig for Utah Sprocket near Moab and Hite in southern Utah. Unlike Charlie, he did not make a fortune in mining claims. The experience may have triggered an entreprenuerial chord with him because he began to think, plan and venture to expand his financial options. At first he purchased used welding machines from construction firms who chose to sell them rather than move them to the next project. He then rented this equipment and within a year was making almost as much from the rental income as he did from his day job. With a little capital and a few welders, he started a back-yard fabrication company. He made handrail and other miscellaneous steel items that were so small that they did not cover the overhead required at a larger steel firm. Great trees from little acorns grow and Newt's company struggled and grew to a multi-million dollar enterprise.

I Get No Respect

Newt insisted that his family show respect whether at home or in public. He only had to tell his children once that 'Old Man and Old Lady' were not acceptable terms for Mom and Dad, neither were Ma and Pa. His children were never to call adults by their first name. Showing disrespect to a teacher or arguing were likewise unacceptable. One day at a family gathering at Genevieve's parents, Jerry was playing with his cousin Ralph. They were nearly the same age and were enjoying playing together. Newt told Jerry to do something and Jerry answered, "phooey-on-you." Jerry thought he was being funny but as Newt stood up with a frown on his face, Jerry knew he'd made a mistake. Jerry started to run through the pasture toward the canal. That was his second mistake. About half way down the pasture Jerry paused to look back. That was all it took because Newt was right behind him. Newt subscribed to the concept of "spare the rod and spoil the child." Jerry received a sound spanking. It hurt a lot and since Ralph was there, Jerry was also embarrassed. One night after visiting his wife's parents, Newt pulled into his driveway to find Jerry's tricycle right in the middle of the drive. "Put your tricycle in the coal shed," Newt said to his son. It was dark and the coal shed was in the back yard. Jerry was afraid and refused to put it away, then threw a screaming fit. Newt said you can stay outside until you put the tricycle away. A short time later a police car pulled up in front. The sirens and flashing lights really scared Jerry but he stopped screaming. The policeman asked if he was hurt or if Newt had done anything to him. It was all a big mistake. The neighbors heard the screaming and called the police. I think that was the last of Jerry's temper tantrums.

The Guitar

Newt was often asked to sing at church or family gatherings. At home, he would accompany himself on his old guitar. Usually around Christmas his brother Vic would visit and they would sit on the couch and sing country and western, gospel and sometimes popular songs from the 1950s. When 'Goodnight Irene' became popular, Newt sang that tune over and over until some of the family complained. Newt had a pleasant voice and seldom did anyone ask him not to sing but this time the repetition was just too much. On deer hunting trips he would usually wake the camp with "Oh what a beautiful morning; Oh what a beautiful day. I've got a wonderful feeling, everything's going my way." One sister commented after his passing that as a youth they could hear him singing as he came down the country lane long before he was visible. Just a few of the songs he sang were 'Little Brown Church in the Vale, How Great Thou Art, Oklahoma Hills, Bluetail Fly and Clementine.' Before the Minstrel Shows became passe, Newt and three friends formed a male chorus from the LDS Ward community and performed an evening of music, jokes and entertainment staged as a minstrel show. It's strange that I don't remember the show itself but I do remember the practices. One of the members couldn't sing but he was one of their friends so they taught him how. How would it be to look back across the years to when Newt's grandfather would sit on the porch of his Texas home and sing the songs of that time.Newt's oldest sister Irene recalled a song their father sang to his wife that always brought tears to her eyes. It was titled "In The Shadow of the Pines" and the words were included in a collection the Carter family had posted online.

Sea Legs

As a sailor during WWII, Newt became proficient at the welding trade. He spoke little of his years aboard ship. It seems to take a shipmate to draw the stories into the open. One experience that he shared was the Normandy invasion. Newt was on a repair ship that participated in the invasion. He spoke of being off shore as the landing craft hit the beach. A ship near by was struck by enemy fire and sunk. He then said that their ship was signalled that they were at the wrong beachhead and directed to move further off shore. I don't recall if he told whether they then sailed to the beach they were intended to support. I recall one snapshot in his photo album that showed the deck of a ship with a large hole which he claimed was caused by a bomb that failed to detonate. He returned with one momento of the invasion, a seashell inscribed with the name of his vessel, Normandy, and the date. Besides his duffle bag and uniform, the only other item relating to his naval service was his seaman's handbook. The knots and splices and pictures of different classes of ships were the most interesting to me. He told of shaping a file into a knife blade then tempering and hardening it. He plied his trade in his driveway building boat trailers. He would salvage an axle from an old car and frame the rest of the trailer with pipe. for rollers he used old wringer washing machine rolls. He'd custom fit the trailer to the boat. He had a boat for a while. One day he was backing down to the water at Great Salt Lake and submerged the car engine in the salty water. The old engine sat in his garage for years afterwards. Later he bought a boat to sail at Lake Powell. Then he had to buy an airplane to get there and get his pilots license.

Newt

We bounced through the sagebrush and over rocks on what Newt promised was a road but there was no visible indication to prove his claim. The old yellow Jeep managed to cling tightly to the side-hill as we neared the West Fork headwaters. Lunch was a can of Dinty-Moore stew; we would be through fishing in time to catch a bite of dinner in Kamas on our way home. The fish were small, quick and alert to any intrusion from outsiders. Newt worked down stream while I sat on the bank trying to entice a large cutthroat that patrolled the deep hole. It had been what seemed like an hour when I decided to retrieve my line. I had a snag. Try as I might, I couldn't get it loose. Then suddenly it moved upstream. I had the fish on my line. I must have made a lot of noise because Newt soon broke through the willows and seeing my plight, set aside his pole and with a net prepared to help me land the trout. After several minutes and many attempts to get the fish to where we could slip him in the net, we finally landed him.