Rebecca & Betty Broadbent on the Broadbent Store, Pioneer Heritage & 135 Years of Lehi History

Rebecca Betty Broadbent Store History Lehi

Rebecca & Betty Broadbent on the Broadbent Store, Pioneer Heritage & 135 Years of Lehi History

135 Years on Main Street

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Episode Overview

Guests

Role in Lehi

Time Periods Discussed

Primary Topics

Episode Highlights

Key Stories from the Interview

The Dugout and the Wagon

The $100 Christmas Eve

Counting Back Change — The Initiation

The Nativity Window That Stopped Traffic

The Demolition Watch

Pre-Civil War Tintypes in a Type-Set Box

What This Interview Teaches Us About Lehi

Pioneer General Stores Built Lehi

Barter Sustained Families Through the Depression

Family Businesses Were Community Living Rooms

Main Street Was Once the Entire Economy

Big-Box Retail Displaced Local Culture

Historic Buildings Face Impossible Codes

Masonry From 1890 Still Stands

Christmas Traditions Anchored Downtown

Community & Legacy Themes

Memorable Quotes

Related Lehi Topics & Episodes

History of Main Street Lehi Businesses

Pioneer Settlement Stories in Utah

Evolution of Retail in Small Towns

Lehi Community Traditions & Holidays

Family-Run Businesses Across Generations

Impact of Big-Box Stores on Local Economies

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Full Transcript

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Two generations of the Broadbent family share the story of Lehi's iconic general store — from a pioneer dugout and wagon to a beloved downtown landmark that survived everything except the internet.

In this episode of Roots & Branches of Lehi , Ryan Harding sits down with Rebecca Broadbent and Betty Broadbent — two generations of the family that operated one of Lehi, Utah's most beloved institutions, the Broadbent Store . For 135 years, from 1882 to 2017, the store stood on the same downtown block, evolving from a pioneer dugout and wagon operation into a full-service general store that sold everything from coveralls and baptism dresses to groceries, hardware, and handcrafted hardwood furniture. It was more than a business; it was a second home, a community living room, and a training ground for generations of Lehi children who learned to count back change before they learned to drive.

The Broadbent story begins with an English convert who crossed the plains with a handcart company, was assigned by Brigham Young to establish a store for the settlements, and started from a mud dugout repairing watches and riveting denim for local miners. Through the Great Depression, two world wars, and countless economic shifts, the store survived because the family understood something that no spreadsheet could capture: the merchandise mattered less than the atmosphere. As Rebecca puts it, "It wasn't the merchandise — it was the atmosphere."

This interview is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand the soul of old Lehi — the Lehi of Main Street general stores, hand-counted ledgers, Christmas nativity windows, and the kind of customer service that included peanuts, chocolate, and a ten-cent tour from Grandma Alice that you couldn't escape even if you were in a hurry. The store may have been demolished to make way for the Lehi Police Station (now home to the preserved Broadbent Room), but its spirit lives on in the work ethic, civic commitment, and community love that Rebecca and Betty carry forward. This is the story of how one family built Lehi's living room — and why, in an age of one-click shopping, we still need places that feel like home.

Join Ryan Harding with Rebecca and Betty Broadbent for a warm, wide-ranging conversation about 135 years of Lehi history, pioneer grit, Christmas Eve miracles, and why counting back change matters.

Rebecca Broadbent, Betty Broadbent

Multi-Generational Family Business Owners; Community Contributors

1850s pioneer era through 2010s (135 years of continuous operation)

Broadbent Store history, pioneer heritage, family business culture, community service, retail evolution, Lehi growth

The English convert founder who crossed with a handcart company and was assigned by Brigham Young to establish a store in the "next valley."

From a mud dugout and wagon to a full brick general store serving Lehi for 135 years (1882–2017).

The 1938 Christmas Eve miracle — how a last-minute $2 toy bus sale pushed the day's receipts to $100 during the Depression.

Barter and credit systems during hard times: eggs for goods, open tabs for neighbors, and the trust that kept the community fed.

The legendary 12-foot-by-8-foot Christmas nativity window display, assembled from a pre-Civil War German set and pieces from around the world.

Grandpa John's customer-service boot camp: counting back change to the penny, never answering the phone when a customer is present, and always sending people home with peanuts.

The emotional demolition of the store in 2017 — watching backhoes "eat" 135 years of family history.

The hidden treasure discovery: pre-Civil War tintype photos found in old type-set boxes during the final cleanout.

The Broadbent Store's founder came from England with the Mormon pioneers, crossed the plains in a handcart company, and was assigned by Brigham Young to establish a store in the valley. He began with no house — just a mud dugout where "the mud dripped with rain" and a wagon from which he repaired watches and clocks. His wife Sarah Dixon used a riveting machine to sew denim coveralls for local miners and farmers. From these humble beginnings, the general store emerged not from ambition but from necessity — the community needed resources, and the Broadbents provided them.

In 1938, newlyweds John and Alice Broadbent had made $98 on Christmas Eve — a significant sum during the Depression. Rather than close, they decided to stay open to see if they could reach $100. Just before closing, Clyde Dorton walked in after work looking for a gift for his son. He found an 18-inch blue metal school bus with opening doors and windows, priced at $2. That single purchase pushed the day's total to $100. The story became family legend, symbolizing the optimism and persistence that defined the store through every economic downturn.

No Broadbent child touched the cash register without completing Grandpa John's rigorous training. He would present items, hand over a $20 bill, and demand the trainee count back the change starting from the sale amount — never just handing over bills and coins. "There was never a time you didn't count the change back," Rebecca recalls. The training included check-writing protocol and a cardinal rule: if the phone rings while a customer stands before you, the phone waits. "They are standing there to give you their money. You don't answer the phone."

Every Christmas, the Broadbent Store featured a massive nativity display in its window — a 12-by-8-foot tableau assembled from a pre-Civil War German nativity set augmented over generations with pieces from around the world. It included elephants, camels, shepherds, and a printed Matthew passage. "Grandma and Grandpa were very devout," Rebecca explains. "They were adamant that that was the center focus of the windows." For Lehi residents, walking past the illuminated window on a snowy Christmas Eve felt like stepping back in time.

When the store was torn down in 2017, Rebecca brought her daughter to what she thought would be a routine doctor's appointment. They ended up parking across the street and watching backhoes dismantle the building. "I felt like they were monsters eating the store," she recalls. "You could see the rooms inside... it was really hard to watch because that was like your whole life getting eaten away and turned into a pile of rubble." She sobbed unexpectedly, surprised by the depth of her grief. "It was more emotional than maybe I thought."

During the final cleanout, Rebecca found roughly 20 wooden boxes that once held hand-set type for gold-foil scripture personalization. She opened one and discovered pre-Civil War tintype photographs of her grandmother's family — images that had sat undisturbed for over a century in a forgotten box above the furnace room. "These probably shouldn't be in a box here," she thought. The discovery was one of many treasures uncovered during the cathartic process of dismantling 135 years of accumulated history.

Before dedicated retail districts, general stores like Broadbent's were survival infrastructure — providing not just goods but credit, trade, and community connection for agricultural settlements.

The Broadbents accepted eggs and goods in exchange for merchandise during the Great Depression, illustrating how Lehi's early economy relied on flexibility and mutual aid rather than strict cash transactions.

The Broadbent Store was designed for lingering — browsing, conversation, and relationship-building. It functioned as a social hub where the primary product was belonging, not merchandise.

For most of Lehi's history, downtown Main Street contained everything residents needed — fabric, furniture, groceries, hardware, and spiritual goods — within a few walkable blocks.

Walmart's ability to sell embroidery thread below wholesale cost marked the beginning of the end for Broadbent's niche merchandise. The store survived wars and depressions but could not survive unequal buying power and online price-checking.

The Broadbent building was ultimately demolished because continuous code modifications (handicap accessibility, fire safety) over 135 years eliminated its eligibility for historic preservation status while making renovation economically unviable.

The brick portion of the original store was built by Andrew Field, a master mason and brother-in-law to Joseph Samuel Broadbent. Preserved bricks and masonry from the 1890s construction now form the Broadbent Room in the Lehi Police Station.

The Broadbent nativity window, miniature parade floats, and Sub for Santa partnerships demonstrate how local businesses once drove Lehi's seasonal culture — a role now fragmented across larger institutions and online commerce.

It wasn't a place of work — it was just part of our life.

We grew up in the store.

The store survived everything... it just couldn't survive the internet.

You always count the change back — every time.

If someone is standing in front of you, you don't answer the phone.

It wasn't the merchandise — it was the atmosphere.

You had to think about what the community needed.

Hard work could get you out of anything.

It wasn't just a business. It belonged to the community.

From general stores and florists to the modern retail landscape of downtown Lehi.

Handcart companies, Brigham Young assignments, and the building of community infrastructure from nothing.

How local general stores, big-box competition, and e-commerce reshaped American Main Streets.

The miniature parade, Sub for Santa, nativity displays, and the seasonal rituals that bind a town.

What it takes to keep a business alive for over a century — and why so few survive the fifth generation.

The economic mechanics that make it impossible for independent retailers to compete on price.

Complete archival transcript of the interview, organized by chapter for readability. This record preserves the oral history of Rebecca and Betty Broadbent for future researchers, students, and residents interested in Lehi's commercial and family heritage.

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This oral history interview is part of the Roots & Branches of Lehi community archive.

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