Tom Giovengo: Salt Lake County’s 1965 Farmer of the Year
Growing up at 3846 South 5600 West, Tom Giovengo learned the value of hard work on his father Onofrio Joseph “O.J.’s” & mother Liboria’s farm. O.J. & Libo were Italian immigrant, had carved a living from the land after building the family’s farmhouse in 1917, transforming it into one of Hunter’s largest and most productive farmsteads. From an early age, Tom worked alongside his father and siblings, tending livestock, irrigating fields, and hauling supplies to and from the barns, sheds, and granaries that filled the property. The farm was more than a livelihood—it was a school of responsibility, resilience, and community pride, lessons that shaped Tom’s lifelong dedication to both farming and service.
Tom Giovengo (1910–1982), who carried on his family’s agricultural legacy as an adult while also working nearly 40 years at Kennecott. A veteran of World War II and a sergeant in the U.S. military, Tom returned home to become a leader in the local farming community. In 1967, he was honored as Salt Lake County’s “Farmer of the Year” for conservation, receiving a plaque and certificate of merit for his accomplishments in soil stewardship. He served 12 years as head of the Hunter/Granger branch of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service and, in 1969, worked alongside Phillip Bertoch, Wendel Jones, Don Rushton, and Henry Bawden on the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Community Committees. The farm itself boasted wells reaching 350 and 450 feet deep, a testament to the family’s commitment to sustaining their land.
In time, the property was purchased to make way for the University of Utah Hospital’s west campus and the Mountain View Corridor highway.
Today, the bungalow, barns, and windbreak trees are gone—replaced by pavement and progress. Yet the story of the Giovengo farm endures, tied to the transformation of the west bench from quiet farmland to a center of transportation, healthcare, and development.
Despite working nearly 40 years at Kennecott Copper, Tom Giovengo never left his farming roots behind. After long shifts at the smelter, he returned home each day to tend his family’s large farm in Hunter—caring for crops, livestock, and the land that had sustained his parents since 1917. Balancing the demands of an industrial job with the responsibilities of a working farm required tireless effort, yet Tom approached both with the same dedication. His ability to maintain a thriving farm while holding full-time employment made him a respected figure in both the workforce and the agricultural community.
The railcar
Circ 2025
