When you move to five different towns growing up, the experience can dwarf you or make you stronger.
John Swallow likes to think it made him stronger.
Other challenges, like losing your father at age 10, living through three Alaskan winters and working the farm as a teenager, can teach you independence and tough-mindedness.
Now Swallow, the GOP candidate in the 2nd Congressional District, wants to take his life experiences and put them to use in the U.S. House. It may sound a bit corny, he admits, but he wants "to serve and to give back more than I take."
While he says he didn't decide to run for Congress until a year ago, ever since he was a teenager Swallow planned to run for some office, some day. Standing in his family's alfalfa field in high school, sweat pouring down his face after a day plowing, Swallow says he decided the farm life was not for him. "I decided I wanted to live in a city," to go to college and law school, serve in public office.
Swallow, 39, faces Democratic incumbent Rep. Jim Matheson in the Nov. 5 election. A six-year veteran of the Utah House for a conservative Sandy district, Swallow says three events formed his personal and political life — an early elective office, solitary days on a farm and sticking it out at Brigham Young University law school.
Swallow and his five brothers and sisters helped his step-father and mother farm a 600-acre spread in Spring Valley, Nev. "It's not even a town, just a valley 40 miles outside of Ely," he said. At age 16, "out of curiosity," he signed up to attend a state driving safety convention in Reno — what was considered then the big-city experience.
Arriving at the three-day convention, Swallow decided to run for president of the statewide organization. "Everyone said I was nuts. No one from a small, northeastern farm community would win a race like that, not knowing anyone." But Swallow jumped right in. And he did win.
"It taught me that maybe I can do the impossible" in politics. "They told me not to challenge the Republican, two-term incumbent (state) House member from Sandy. But I did. And I won" in 1996.
"They told me not to challenge the incumbent (Jim Matheson) in the 2nd District. But I did."
And he believes he'll come from behind in the polls and win this one, too.
Swallow has pursued life with a dogged determination.
The second child of six, born in Southern California, he was named after his father, John, a free-lance advertising copy writer who died "in a stupid accident" in St. George when Swallow was nearly 10. Swallow's mom moved the family for three years to Juneau, Alaska, where they lived with her mother and father.
Just before he was to enter 7th grade, the family moved to Provo, where Swallow attended one year of junior high school. Then his mother remarried and it was off to "the very beautiful, but very remote" valley in eastern Nevada where his step-dad had a farm. "He put us all to work on the farm, he adopted six kids," he was a fine man and stability returned to Swallow's life.
"Thinking back on it, working a farm you have a lot of time on your own," driving the tractor, harvesting the grains. Swallow believes it was that solitary time that allowed him to ponder things, recognize problems and work out solutions. It settled him, gave him what he calls "the core values I have today."
Athletics was a way to join up and fit in, and Swallow lettered in three high school sports. But aside from that, Swallow found a talent. "I could sing."
A second tenor, Swallow sang at funerals and other local events. As a soloist Swallow won a statewide singing contest with his rendition of the theme from the movie "Ice Castles." Ultimately, his singing brought him a scholarship to the University of Nevada Reno.
But he only stayed one quarter before quitting to earn money for an LDS Church mission. He served in Spanish-speaking parts of Los Angeles and still speaks Spanish today. "I have a nice L.A. accent" to his Spanish, he jokes.
Meeting several BYU students on his mission, Swallow decided Provo was the place for him. He started at the Y. after getting off his mission and soon met Suzanne Ceader, marrying at 23. Five children followed, four girls and a boy.
"I worked my way through BYU teaching Spanish at the Missionary Training Center — three years of it." Swallow graduated in psychology. But an internship in clinical work — "watching chickens scratch a plate was not for me" — turned him against a planned career as a school counselor.
He got into BYU's law school, went a year and then faced another critical decision. A close friend asked him to quit school and come to work for his growing computer-related firm. Ultimately, the friend made millions of dollars.
"But I decided to stick with law school," even though his growing family needed the extra income. He said he decided on law as a way to help people, and maybe open a door to elective political office — something that was always at the back of his mind.
Upon passing the bar, Swallow was hired into the medium-size firm Scalley & Reading, where he became a partner five years later. Several years ago he left the firm and joined one of the firm's clients, the Utah County dietary supplement firm Silver Sage, as corporate counsel. He's since left employment of that firm and now works on retainer for Silver Sage during his campaign.
In sticking with law school, Swallow said, "I kept a promise to myself. I didn't want to turn 40 and have regrets over something I didn't do." He's turning 40 this year. "And I don't have any regrets."
E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com