Composer of the School Song

Orson Pratt Huish was the son of James Will­iam Hu­ish and Hel­en Nib­lett Hu­ish, and hus­band of Ann Ma­rin­tha Pick­er­ing. At age nine, he em­i­grated to St. Lou­is, Mis­sou­ri. Then, in 1861, the fa­mi­ly moved to the Utah Ter­ri­tory, set­tling in Pay­son, where he worked in farm­ing and ranch­ing as a youth. He lat­er ran several gen­er­al stores in Mo­ab, Utah; Eu­gene, Or­eg­on; and Al­bu­quer­que, New Mex­i­co. He al­so opened Hu­ish Drug.

Huish was not only a com­pos­er and musician, but was al­so trained in com­mer­cial pho­to­gra­phy, mak­ing some con­tri­bu­tions in this field and op­er­at­ing the firm Huish and Hin­shaw. They did most of their work in Utah and Ar­i­zo­na. In 1880, Orson formed the Hu­ish Band with his bro­thers Ed­ward, Jo­seph, Frank, James, and Fred­er­ick, and their sister Flor­ette. They tra­veled through­out the Utah Ter­ri­to­ry, oft­en per­form­ing for dances. Huish had been trained to per­form in a band with an­o­ther Pay­son re­si­dent, John D. Stark.

Orson Huish wrote ov­er 300 songs, including several that are found in the hymnbook of the Church of the Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is honored at Payson High School for composing the school song, “The Sil­ver and the Green.” For over 100 years, tens of thousands of PHS youth have sung his inspiring words. We invite everyone to “Come and join us, come and join us” because “We are marching on to victory everyday!” See the complete lyrics and sheet music at the PHS website.

Inducted 2021

Originator of our "Lions" mascot

1908 was the first year of Payson High football. The team’s first name was the Payson Farmers, later renamed the Beetdiggers, and later the Maple Leaves. The Maple Leaves mascot is what gave PHS the school colors of green and silver, which remain our school colors to this day.

In 1928, the mascot of the Maple Leaves was changed to the Lions to honor the Payson Lions Club--the local chapter of the Lions Club International--for their generous fundraising contributions to the school. That year, the football team was out of money, but needed new uniforms. The Lions Club organized community wide fundraisers, donated their own money, and bought season tickets as another way to donate to the school. Payson had a great season that year. With the support of the community, they made it to the semifinals of the state football playoffs, finishing in the top 4 in the state. Losing to Manti, the team returned to Payson to find that the Lions Club had again rallied the community around them by organizing a banquet for the players to celebrate their hard work, school spirit, and success. The Lions Club continues to serve our school by awarding a generous community scholarship to a deserving graduating senior.

At Payson High School we are proud to bear the name "Lions" in honor of the Payson Lions Club. Our shared story with the Lions Club highlights the core belief of our Lion Pride: that our greatest power is ours when our community comes together to serve, strengthen, and support each other.

Inducted 2020

Payson City Recreation Director

In 1961, Joe graduated from Utah State with a degree in Physical Education (PE) and Mathematics. Joe taught math, coached all sports and drove the bus for Escalante High School. In 1963, he accepted a teaching position at Payson High School where he taught PE and Math for 21 years.

In 1980, he became the Community School/City Recreation Director for Payson City. After 37 years with Nebo School District, Joe retired. Joe served 25 years on the fire department and 45 years as a basketball official! In fact, in 2006, Joe was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in the category of "Officials Hall of Honor."

During his years as the Payson City Recreation Director, Worthen organized many youth and adult sports programs. He was very involved with planning and creating new fields and maintenance of all the parks. He brought Karl Malone and John Stockton to promote the Jr. Jazz program for youth basketball. During Worthen’s time as recreation director, Payson City Recreation received the “Best New Recreation Program” award in 1985 by the State of Utah.

It is difficult to measure the long-term impact that Joe had on the youth of Payson and our sports programs. It is safe to say that nearly every child who has passed through Payson or its programs have been impacted for the better by Joe's dedicated service to our community.

Inducted 2020