Lehi People
Mary Dye’s legacy restored: AF park officially renamed
Rob Shelton | Lehi Free Press
The American Fork City Council unanimously approved renaming Art Dye Park to Mary and Art Dye Park during a city council meeting Tuesday, May 27, correcting an over 40-year-old oversight discovered through recent historical research.
County records show a 1979 agreement where Arthur H. Dye donated land a sizeable parcel of land to American Fork City with one clear stipulation: the future park must be called “The Mary Ellen Park” in honor of his wife, Mary Christensen Dyeand her adoptive mother.
An American Fork Citizen article from January 16, 1985, reveals what happened next. Reporter Sharon Morrey documented how the city sold Dye’s donated property for $70,000 after residents rejected a bond measure for a city park. The sale proceeds helped fund the lease of different land in American Fork from the state of Utah for the recreational complex.
In that same article, Steve Bailey, then the city’s recreation director, acknowledged the naming requirement. “We’ll probably be naming the park something with the Dye name,” Bailey told the newspaper. “That’s in accordance with Mr. Dye’s wishes that a park be named after his wife.”
Somehow, though, Mary’s name never made it onto the park signage. Despite the original agreement’s explicit naming requirement, the park became known simply as Art Dye Park — an oversight that went unnoticed for more than four decades.
“We owe a debt of gratitude for the seed that started it all, and that was Mary and Art,” said Mayor Brad Frost during the meeting. “This [park] is the jewel of our city.”
The push for the name change came from descendants of Mary’s sister, Katherine Christensen Fowler Austin, who approached the city after learning about the original agreement’s intent. Family members, including Jetta Marie Rasmussen, Janice Roberts, Donna Barnes, Darren Bell and Sally Fowler Francom, attended the meeting to witness the historic correction.
“Mary was my great aunt,” said Jetta Marie Rasmussen during public comments. “We’re just thrilled that this is happening. It’s been a long time coming.”
Mary Dye’s extended family who attended the meeting each spoke, painting a picture of Mary’s incredible journey through hardship. Born in 1895 in Denmark, Mary and her sister Kate immigrated to Utah around 1901 after their parents’ conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tragedy struck when both parents died within five months of each other in 1905 and 1906, leaving the two young girls, ages 10 and 12, orphaned with no family to care for them.
Initially taken in by the Ole Anderson family of Pleasant Grove, Mary struggled in her new environment. She was eventually placed with Ole’s half-sister Ellen and her husband, Hans Severin Rasmussen of American Fork, who operated the American Fork Bottling Company. Ole had a son, Owen, who was about Mary’s age and visited the Rasmussen home frequently during summer months to work in the bottling shop, developing a close friendship with Mary who became like a sister to him. Though Mary was never formally adopted, the Rasmussens made her their heir, leaving all their assets to her when they died in 1928.
Mary met Arthur Henry Dye through correspondence when he lived in New York. After a period of exchanging letters, Art moved to Utah, and the couple married in November 1924. Together, they established a refreshment and grocery business on State Street that grew into The Cottage Market at 454 East State Street in American Fork. The diner and soda shop became known throughout the area for fair dealing.
The couple retired and sold their business in fall 1951, just before supermarkets arrived in American Fork. They spent their retirement traveling and taking care of each other through Mary’s various illnesses until her death in 1963.
After Mary’s death, Art developed a close friendship with Owen Anderson of Pleasant Grove, whose grandfather was the missionary who converted Mary’s parents in Denmark and later helped arrange Mary’s placement with the Rasmussens. Anderson had moved back to Pleasant Grove in 1972 after living in Spring City for nearly 30 years, and renewed his friendship with the aging Art Dye.
Because Art and Mary never had children, Art made Anderson the executor of his estate. Together, they discussed Art’s wishes for his property after his death. Art wanted to leave his property to American Fork City for a park.
Art died on July 17, 1980. In 1983, the city proposed a bond election for a lease with the State of Utah for parkland, but the bond measure failed. City officials led by Mayor Malcolm Beck then determined that Art’s donated property was more valuable as commercial real estate than as parkland. They approached Anderson, as executor of Art’s estate, for permission to sell the original property and use the proceeds to purchase different land for the recreational facility. Anderson agreed to the arrangement which ultimately led to the park’s creation.
According to “American Fork City: The Growing Years” by Betty G. Spencer, the property sale generated $70,000 that served as seed money to help secure a state grant for an additional $100,000, enabling construction of the unique star-shaped multipurpose outdoor recreation center.
Phases one and two of the park were completed by 1990. This included ball diamonds, soccer and football fields, concession stands and restrooms, along with a paved road and a parking lot.
The 22-acre complex, leased from the state of Utah, has evolved far beyond its original baseball and softball fields. Through extensive volunteer efforts and funding from the Parks, Arts, Recreation and Culture sales tax, the site has expanded into a premier recreational destination featuring ball diamonds, soccer and football fields, concession stands, restrooms, disc golf courses, a dog park, pickleball courts and mountain biking trails. The park now serves as the anchor for various festivals including Fork Fest and Steel Days, American Fork’s annual city celebration, and hosts tens of thousands of visitors each year.
“This story is a true testament of what can happen when one is encouraged to give back to a community,” Frost noted, referencing the Dyes’ original vision that continues to benefit residents decades later.
The resolution was signed and notarized during the meeting, making the name change official. The cost for renaming the park was paid by an anonymous donor.
