Archives West Finding Aid

Alta LaRee Hill Pehrson (1920-2006) was born to Samuel Forrest and Almena May Morris Hill, in Hunter Utah. She went to various schools, including Hunter, Granger, and Cyprus High School in Magna. As a single woman, she worked as a florist for ZCMI, and at Hotel Utah. She was one of the first usherettes for the Centre Theatre on 3rd South and State. Alta LaRee married Nils Pehrson on June 7, 1941. Together they had three children: Judith LaRee, Neal Eugene, and Mark Joseph.

After her marriage, Pehrson worked for the United States Post Office and at the Magna J. C. Penny. During World War II, she worked at the Remington Arms Plant, and after the war she worked at Kennecott's Arthur Mill. After the birth of her children, Pehrson decided to stay home and care for them; during this time, she became active as a community activist. In 1960, Pehrson began working for the Green Sheet Newspaper as a feature writer and reporter; she worked for the weekly publication for 35 years.

Pehrson was deeply committed to Magna, and throughout her life fought for and against things she thought were important to the community. She was instrumental in bringing in the Metropolitan Phone Service; she lobbied for the Magna Recreation Center and a free standing public library; was involved in the "Save the Ice Rink" campaign; and was part of the committee to incorporate Magna. Conversely, Pehrson fought against putting the Salt Lake County garbage dump on the east side of the Oquirrhs, installing a fiber glass plant near Webster School, and the construction of a poultry feed mill Magna. She was also involved in efforts to close a cement plant that was polluting the water in the Salt Lake and Utah canals. Pehrson joined the Magna Chamber of Commerce in 1967, and became their first woman president in 1980. She held that position for six years. At the end of her life, she was still involved with her community, still collecting history and photographs, and evidently, still not being afraid to state her opinion. Alta LaRee Hill Pehrson died July 12, 2006.