Elementary school name honors jeweler and civic leader

When MJ Christensen Elementary School broke ground in October 1988, its namesake was well-known, having six jewelry stores in the Las Vegas Valley and being a civic leader.

"We get asked that all the time -- 'Is that your school?' " said Jennifer Miller, marketing director for MJ Christensen Jewelers, of the school at 9001 Mariner Cove Drive.

For years, Las Vegans knew MJ Christensen Jewelers as one of the top jewelers in town. The company was sold in 2007 and now has two branches. The new owners opted to keep the name, saying it had "such a sterling reputation."

But what most people don't realize is that MJ Christensen owes his start in Las Vegas to the Union Pacific Railroad.

MJ Christensen was born the son of a carpenter in February 1899 in Brigham City, Utah. His full name was Marcus Joy. The middle name underlined his parents' state of mind at having a healthy baby after their first two children were stillborn.

Their joy was short-lived. The next pregnancy resulted in another stillborn child, and MJ's mother died, as well.

He was sent to live with his grandparents.

Christensen graduated from Box Elder High School in 1918 and did a brief stint in the Army before receiving his education at The University of Utah. He went on a two-year church mission to Denmark for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and then married his sweetheart, Hazel Johnson.

Like his father, he worked as a carpenter and cabinet builder. His interests turned to watch repair, and Christensen interned with a jeweler in Milford, Utah, who also was a railroad watch inspector.

In the days before computers and GPS units, being on time was of the utmost importance to the railroad industry. Trains going in either direction needed confidence that on-coming trains had reached the sidings (pull-off points) at the times predetermined by the schedule. To do that, their watches had to remain accurate within 30 seconds every two weeks or 30 days, depending on whether the employee was an engineer or a line foreman.

After his apprenticeship, Christensen took over the watch inspecting contract in 1932. As the Union Pacific continued to grow, it opened a base in Las Vegas and asked Christensen to move his family there.

He agreed and moved here first but was called back a month later by the railroad. It had acted too prematurely, the railroad said. The Union Pacific called him back a month later with orders to return to Las Vegas. They were ready to go full steam ahead, they said.

So, Christensen returned to Las Vegas and made a quick trip back to Milford to start moving household items. Hazel greeted him with disturbing news: The railroad had called while he was en route and canceled the orders ---- again.

Christensen had had enough. He called a buddy in the liquor business, described his predicament and asked if there was anything he could do.

The buddy went straight to the Union Pacific president, reminded the official that he distributed a lot of liquor throughout Utah but that he could just as easily deal with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad.

The result was almost immediate. Christensen was moved permanently to Las Vegas, his family closing up the Milford house to join him. That was in 1939. Christensen opened a jewelry "store" inside a drug store at First and Fremont streets ---- it actually consisted of two display cases ---- and serviced the railroad, as well. By 1941, he opened his own store at 225 Fremont St. The family lived behind it for a time, and Hazel kept the books.

Before the advent of air conditioning, the Christensen family endured the summer nights at 10 Bonneville St. by hanging wet sheets in the window so the breeze would cool off their rooms. MJ and his wife slept on the enclosed porch. Their sons ---- Don, Vern, Carl and Paul ---- slept two-to-a-bed in bunk beds, and the daughters ---- Anne and Adele ---- shared a couch.

In 1958, Christensen bought 3 acres near the Anderson Dairy on South Fifth St. and built a house at 706 Lacy Lane. The house included a 16-foot-by-20-foot room for his prized possession: a slate billiard table.

The house also was built with an extra-large kitchen, highly unusual in those days but a practical move. The kitchen was the spot where visitors gravitated. At the same time as they built their house, they constructed four others nearby, one for each son.

Grandson Dave Christensen, a doctor who tended to MJ in his final years, recalled him as a man who could be, at times, the life of a party or reserved and quiet.

"He was quite a storyteller, too," he said.

MJ Christensen was instrumental in establishing the Better Business Bureau and served in the Assembly and the state Senate, chairing the Ways and Means Committee for the latter.

He died in 1987. Hazel died six years later.

"He was 87 when he died," said his grandson.

"He always said that he wanted to live in three centuries because he was born in 1899 ... he wanted to live long enough to see 2001. He didn't make it."

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.