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'It's just what a cowboy does': A lifetime of rockets and ranching

Rural Utah at a Crossroads. The logo features a view in Utah County of fields, apartment and industrial buildings, and the Spanish Fork Canyon in the distance.

Every rural person and place has a story. Change is part of that story.

“Rural Utah at a Crossroads” is part of the Smithsonian traveling exhibit Crossroads: Change in Rural America, which explores the changing meaning of rural life and identity. Utah Humanities toured Crossroads to eight rural communities across Utah in 2024. As part of the tour, Utah Humanities and Utah Public Radio partnered with exhibition hosts to interview local residents about change in their communities.

This interview took place at the Brigham City Museum of Art and History in partnership with Northrup Grumman (formerly Thiokol).


Boyd Udy: Well, I'll start when I went to work with Thiokol.

I worked construction prior to that. In February, 20th of '70, I got tired of being off in the winter, so I went to work at Thiokol as just a laborer, $2.40 an hour. And then I worked there, and then I worked in different areas out there. And then the last — well, not before I went to the ranch — I was in insulation design. I helped design all the rocket, planetary, space shuttle, the whole 10 yards. I worked on that in the development labs.

And then in '88 — September 19th of '88 — the job come up on the board as a ranch manager. And so Chris and I, we kind of did a resume together, and we didn't really put into it till the last day it was on the board. We didn't think we'd have a prayer, you know, because there was like 250 people applied for it. And they called and said that we have it. And so I called Chris. I said, 'You sure we want to go to Promontory?' Because it's tough on kids, because you're a long ways away from everything, just a lot of driving to town. So from '88 to present time, I'm still working for them.

The reason they have the ranch is for the water. When Thiokol moved into Utah, was in 1956, and when they were running their plant, there wasn't water over there suitable for drinking and whatever. So from then until '65 they hauled the water out to Promontory with trucks. And then in '65 they bought the ranch from the Sandals, and at that time they put a pipeline in from the water. But they have a lot of springs out there.

The main spring coming into the tower, it runs anywhere from 100 to 250 gallons a minute, and so they get that as free water. But then from there, it's all gravity from there to plant, and it's piped from out there, which is 14 miles away from the main plant. So there is a lot of water in Promontory, and there's nobody out there but us.

We run cattle. There's 7,000 acres there and our family grew out there, and we've had a good life out there. A normal day, my job description is 7/24. It's around the clock and that. So we get up in the morning and I help them feed. We're feeding 600 head of cattle out there in the mornings. We get that done, and then when we do some checking, and then there's like, 35 miles of fence. So I've put most of that in. On the ranch, there's always something to do. It's get up and go to work and whatever. So that's kind of what it is.

And the water is — I'm kind of over the water. I have to go make sure that everything's running right, you know, because you have to watch for people. Everything's under lock and key up at the water towers, where you about have to of this old world. So that's about it.

But the ranch — I've been really blessed with my family, and I look at Thiokol like this: when I hired on out there, everything I have from then to now is because of that company. I mean, we started out with $15 a month insurance. My kids were born, and everything I have is from them. So I'm very proud to say that I've worked for the company that long.

I'm just a cowboy that gets government wages, how's that? Everybody asked me, 'When am I going to retire?' The day I get up and can't do my job, I'll retire. It's just what a cowboy does.

Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.

Mia Shumway is a producer and reporter for Utah Public Radio. She produces Rural Utah at a Crossroads and loves bringing the stories of rural Utahns to life. Mia studied Mass Communication at Colorado Mesa University and is pursuing a master's in political science at Utah State University. When she’s not on the air, she can be found on one of Logan’s many beautiful hiking trails or procrastinating her thesis.