This week we want to pay tribute to the ancestors of the founding fathers of Boulevard Home Furnishings.
For those who keep up on Utah History, they know that the 24th of July is a significant day, not only for the state but for the entire Inter-mountain West. July 24th is the celebrated day in 1847 that the Mormon Pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley. From that day forward and over the next number of years, groups of Mormon Pioneers were sent out to settle various regions, establishing dozens of cities and towns from the north to the south and everywhere in-between.
In 1861 a group of Swiss immigrant pioneers was sent to Southern Utah in the St. George area to settle along the Santa Clara River. Being a pioneer required faith, dedication, determination, hard work, and endurance. These stalwart people took what they had and made the best of it. In many cases, they were sent to climates totally foreign to what they were used to. The Santa Clara settlers were Swiss immigrants, accustomed to alpine climates with mild summers and snowy winters. Southern Utah was nothing like the Swiss Alps!
One descendant of those 1861 pioneers was Lester Wittwer. Along with other family members, he started a trucking business in 1928, delivering homegrown fruits and vegetables to outlying towns. Lester’s desire to take good care of his customers was reflected in other ventures including the motel business. Lester’s children worked along-side him in the motels. They learned from their father the value of hard work and service. A simple bucket of ice has become a reminder of how they learned to take care of their tired and travel-weary guests.
The story of Boulevard Home Furnishings began in 1974 when Lester’s son, Tony, started the furniture business with a relatively small showroom located on Southern Utah’s most famous street, “St. George Boulevard”. Like his pioneer ancestors, Tony began small and put his heritage of hard work and perseverance to task. For over 4o years he and other family members, along with dedicated employees, have built Boulevard into what it is today.
When asked: “What is the key to Boulevard’s success?” The answer comes from the traditions and values passed along from those pioneer ancestors and their posterity. It is a heritage of hard work, dedication and customer service.