Labor Day grand marshal still digs Pioche

By Drew Cole

Margaret (Peggy) Draper Hone was born in Manti, Utah, Nov. 13, 1941. Born to Sylvia and George Lucian Sears, she graduated from Manti High School in 1960. Peggy has two siblings. Her younger brother, George Sears, and her younger sister, Nola Sears, both still reside in the Salt Lake City area.

Peggy married her high school sweetheart Tom Draper after graduating. Then they moved to Vegas for a short time. After a few years in Vegas, Tom decided to further his education. They moved to Cedar City, and Tom graduated from SUU with a bachelors in education.

After graduating from SUU, Tom set up an interview in Vegas with the Clark County School District. While sitting in a Sears parking lot, a car pulled up next to them that read “Lincoln County School District.” Peggy said, “Why don’t you ask if they have any job openings?” A gentleman named Preston Price shook hands with Tom and said that Lincoln County did in fact have an opening at Pioche Elementary and invited them to take a look at what Lincoln County had to offer. 

Needless to say, a small conversation in the Sears parking lot turned into years of living in Pioche. Tom started teaching fourth grade at Pioche Elementary in 1967. After further education in later years, Tom went on to become Pioche Elementary’s principal and sixth grade teacher. Peggy started working for the library part time, reading story hour weekly. She enjoyed every second of reading to the kids. In 1981 she started work for the telephone company as an operator. Nervous at first, she learned the task quickly over time.                                   

When asked about her time with the telephone company, she said, “I treasure those years and the peek into the real workings and how the progress of telephone capability mushroomed from such simple beginnings…”

Mary Louise Christian asked Peggy to help design the shirts and buttons for the Labor Day weekend. Peggy says, “It was fun to dig something up and try to create something.” 

Peggy went to work for the library full time starting in 1992, decorating the front window for every holiday and enjoying the visitors that shared the same sentiment towards books. With a love for growing knowledge and history, she started working with Corrine Shumway and many others on the Pioche community books “I Dig Pioche” and “Treasure in the Hills 1 and 2.” 

On Dec. 19, 1995, Pioche and the elementary school lost Tom Draper six years after his heart transplant. With the love for history still in Peggy, she decided to start writing articles for the Lincoln County Record, many coming from the love of Pioche and its buried history. 

She started to help with the Pioche Heritage Plays with Sandy Hulse and Nancy Escabado. She enjoyed every second of it. Getting the community she loves so much to get together was one of the best feelings she’s ever had. “The actors would add their own twist towards the end of the plays; it really made a good show and a good time.”  

Peggy retired from the library in 2005 after getting married to Pioche resident Lee Hone. Peggy continues to serve on the library board and enjoys reading daily. Peggy and Lee spend lots of time visiting the hills in their maroon Jeep. She has a love for what Nevada and its hills offer. “It’s a buried history.” 

Peggy and Tom raised their four daughters, Cindy, Kathy, Ginger and Penny, who all graduated from Lincoln County High School. Tom said it was only supposed to be a couple years of residing in Pioche, but the many years of staying have been well worth it. At the end of our lengthy interview, Peggy was asked, “Do you still dig Pioche?” “I have to dig Pioche. I have been here so long, and I love it.”