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Elmer L. HackfordA Proud Native American
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On March 3, 1922, Elmer L. Hackford was born at home on the family kitchen table. His grandfather, Thomas Hackford, acted as midwife and brought him into this world. His parents were George Thomas Hackford and Sarah Jane Hackford. His grandparents were Thomas and Drusilla (Howell) Hackford and Phillip and Margaret Mary Van.
Elmer was one of 15 children. From an early age, he was known for his strong work ethic and sense of responsibility. As a boy, he worked the family farm while also helping raise his younger siblings. His four youngest sisters often recalled how much he cared for them, looking after their needs while their parents were away. He seemed to have little interest in anything else but work and family during those early years.
In May 1942, Elmer married Wanda Maxine Russell. Two years later, they welcomed their only daughter, Rebecca Jane, born July 28, 1944. Together, they were later blessed with three grandchildren—Lew Elray Edrington Hackford, Cory I. Edrington, and Kyle Raymond Edrington—along with eight great-grandchildren and one great-great grandson.
Family memories of Elmer abound. Children remembered riding with him on the bow rake while he hauled hay to the stacker. After finishing the fields on the flats, he and his nephew often went to Farmcreek to help neighbors with their hay—never tiring, always ready to lend a hand. He was also the steady driver of the wagon on family outings, whether to Easter picnics, to pick bullberries in the pasture, or to visit his sister Selma to gather gooseberries. In the summer, he drove the team of horses hauling ice to the icehouse.
Elmer had a soft spot for children—whether his brothers and sisters, his daughter, or the many nieces, nephews, and neighbor kids who gathered around him. He always took their side when they got in trouble and spoiled them with kindness. A gifted storyteller, he often shared tales of his youth.
Family life was rich in tradition. His mother, Sarah Hackford, spoke the Ute language and visited with relatives, while Grandma Van baked pies, bread, and cakes to sell at the Monte grounds. Elmer, alongside his brother George, cousin Ed Van, and sister Selma, helped sell baked goods while Grandma Hackford played Monte.
In 1956, the Affiliated Ute Citizens (AUC) of Utah was formed to represent the terminated mixed-blood Utes. Elmer served on the first board of directors alongside Preston Allen, Lula (Harris) Murdock, Elizabeth (née Curry) Bumgarner, and Art Workman. Their first meeting was held on June 7, 1956.
That same year, on April 5, 1956, the final roll of mixed-bloods was published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Elmer was deeply hurt when his daughter Rebecca was left off the roll, leaving only him and Wanda listed. This exclusion, and the broader destruction caused by the Termination Policy, troubled him for the rest of his life. He carried the heartbreak of watching his people stripped of their rights and identity.
After termination, Elmer worked for the Great Lakes Timber Company in Lapoint, Utah, hauling logs from the mountains. Later, he drove a water truck in the local oilfields for Dalabo. His coworkers once played a prank by attaching a plastic blow-up doll to the back of his truck. As cars honked and waved at him along the highway, he was confused until he stopped, saw the doll, and laughed heartily at the joke.
Though often lighthearted, Elmer never stopped grieving the loss brought by termination. He hated the injustice it brought upon his people, and despite his work with the AUC board, there was nothing they could do to stop it.
In his later years, Elmer endured the sorrow of losing his beloved wife Wanda. He suffered a stroke, which left him physically hampered, and spent his final years at the care center in Vernal, Utah, where his daughter Rebecca visited him often.
Elmer was remembered as one of the kindest-hearted men one could ever meet—a devoted father, brother, uncle, and friend. His family’s words capture his spirit best: “Dad, we all love you. You are the greatest example of a perfect Native American man that there could ever be. Thank you for being our father, our brother, our uncle, and above all, the kind-hearted person you have always been.”
On the morning of May 16, 2005, just two months after his 83rd birthday, Elmer Hackford walked the Star Trail.