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Darl was born March 26, 1935 in Malad.
His parents were J. Guy and Nellie Sasser Gleed.
His early years were spent on the family farm in New
Canyon. Much of
these early years were spent as the “right hand man” and
“eyes” of his uncle Ern Gleed who was blind but still
fully involved in the operation of his farm.
When Darl was nine years old he and uncle Ern got
permission from the sheriff to drive Ern’s 1939 Ford
pick-up, Darl sitting on Ern’s lap steering and Ern working
the gas, gears and brakes.
They were a novelty in the county going wherever Ern
needed to go, the only stipulation being that they could not
exceed 45 miles per hour on the highway. By the time Darl was 12 he was driving by himself with the
sheriff looking the other way.
His early farm days included haying with a team of
horses. At seven
he could handle the team like a veteran as long as someone
would help him put on the harnesses.
Later teen years found him working as a mechanic’s
helper in the shop of his father’s automobile dealership.
Darl attended Malad schools and was
active in sports and music.
He received the Ogden Standard-KLO Radio Award as the
outstanding athlete of his graduating class and was president
of his senior class. He
attended Snow Jr. College and Idaho State College on football
scholarships.
Darl married Jenna Lee Hassell of
Bluewater, New Mexico. They
have six children, 26 grandchildren and three
great-grandchildren with two more on the way.
After a two-year stint working in
heavy equipment construction, Darl went to work as a
professional Scouter with the Boy Scouts of America.
His 43-year career took him and his family throughout
the western United States. His service included staff positions in Yreka, California,
Medford, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, then Scout
Executive/CEO of councils in Fairbanks, Alaska, Twin Falls,
Idaho, Ogden, Utah and Honolulu, Hawaii.
He served two tours as a member of the national staff
of the Boy Scouts of America, first as Area Director over the
Pacific Northwest with offices in Seattle, Washington and then
as Human Resources Director for the BSA Western Region with
offices in Tempe, Arizona.
His fifteen-year service as Scout Executive in Hawaii
included serving American Samoa, The Territory of Guam, The
Republic of the Marshall Islands, The Federated States of
Micronesia, The Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, The
Republic of Palau, and as a consultant to the BSA council in
Tokyo, Japan. He
retired in April of 2000 and, with his wife Jenna Lee,
returned to Malad.
Darl has loved being back home. They still own the farm he and his uncle worked in New
Canyon. They
purchased his grandparent’s original home in Malad, built
over a hundred years ago, where they currently reside.
He is active in church and community projects and
currently serves as a member of the Oneida County Museum
board. Darl says,
“whoever said you can never go back home was wrong.“
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