Some Roads in Arches National Park not fully paved until the 1990s.

By Lynn Arave

ARCHES National Park was a late bloomer, as far as paved road access goes.
Dr. J.W. Williams and other Moab residents were credited with the first automobile ride into Arches in 1936 -- and they only reached the Balanced Rock and Windows area. They took a very rough path, basically what a jeep trail would be called today.
It wasn't until 1948 that the State of Utah spend $16,000 to improve the road into Arches -- and even then this was an unpaved road -- and only to Balanced Rock and the Windows formations (according to Times Independent Newspaper, Oct. 22, 1947 and April 22, 1948).
It wasn't until the summer of 1957 that the 9.2 miles of road from State Highway 191 to Windows was paved, at a cost of $700,000.
It was still an unpaved road northward from there, to the Devil's Garden.
This section was probably improved and paved by the late 1960s.
However, the side road to Wolf Ranch and the Delicate Arch trailhead was unpaved until the early 1990s.

Before Arches National Park -- A Vast Cattle Domain

                              The Wolf Cabin in Arches National Park.

By Lynn Arave

LONG before Arches National Park came along, this area north of Moab, Utah was a huge cattle ranching area. Early settlers were simply not impressed with scenery when they had to make a living in harsh desert territory.
The Wolf Ranch, just west of Delicate Arch and near the trailhead to the famous arch, was the most famous of these cattle ranches.
This ranch came along in 1898 and was about 150 acres in size, operated by Civil War Veteran John Wesley Wolf.
According to the Times Independent Newspaper of Aug. 3, 1967, a flood in the Salt Wash of Arches in 1906 washed Wolf's first cabin away and he had to build another away from the main drainage.
After Wolf sold out and left, sheep were grazed in the area. Also, horses ran free in the area.

                            The desolate Salt River Wash area.

It wasn't until 1936 when the Arches area was seen by more than cowboys and ranchers. That's because horseback or a jolting wagon ride were the only ways to access the area before that.
Dr. J.W. Williams and other Moab residents were credited with the first automobile ride into Arches in 1936 -- and they only reached the Balanced Rock and Windows area.

'Epidemic of Runaway Couples' in 1907 Ogden

By Lynn Arave

"Epidemic of Runaway Couples: Six young people from Salt Lake married; They like Ogden's way of doing things -- Surprise for the folks at home" was a June 24, 1907 headline in the Ogden Standard-Examiner.
The article mentioned how Ogden's pastors must be more accommodating than Salt Lake City's and hence why so many young couples were eloping some 36 miles north to Ogden fo

r a quick and less-questions-asked marriage.
The story stated that "the number of runway couples that come from Zion to be married in Ogden is steadily on the increase."
The also stated that two "supposedly confirmed bachelors, widely known to the businessmen of Salt Lake" traveled to the Hermitage in Ogden Canyon for their honeymoon, as they ended "their state of single blessedness."
"Salt Lake Girls run away to get married in Ogden" was a June 21, 1922 headline in the Standard-Examiner, and so this trend of runaway couples coming to Ogden for a quick marriage continued, at least for more than a decade.

                                 The old Ogden City Hall.

'A Novel Ride' in 1891 down Waterfall Canyon?

              The view down Waterfall Canyon, west, from just below the Waterfall.

By Lynn Arave

 SOMETIMES historical accounts just aren't detailed enough.
EXAMPLE: A May 21, 1891 article in the Ogden Standard-Examiner, reported that a group of Ogden residents hiked up to Observatory Peak (Mount Ogden) by way of Waterfall Canyon and then road back down "on snow toboggans, having a fine ride of over a  mile and a half down on the snow," it was stated. The headline of the story labeled it "A Novel Ride."

                          The view eastward at the mouth of Waterfall Canyon.

   Where exactly did the group slide down on the snow?
Given the terrain of this area, the area around the waterfall of Waterfall Canyon is a steep cliff. It certainly wasn't there.
In the deep winter, it is possible to walk right over top of the Waterfall stream, most of the way up the canyon. However, in late May, that seems unlikely.

So, the only place this group could have actually slid on toboggans was much higher up the mountain -- between Malan's Basin and Mount Ogden. Here, in late May, the snow could have still been deep. However, who would haul a toboggan (likely a long, narrow board of wood in that era) that far up the mountain? That would have been a grueling ordeal, of 5 or more miles and almost a mile of vertical climb.
But, hey there weren't ski resorts back then and so maybe that's the effort it took for a good snow thrill well over a century ago ......?

                       The view from Malan's Basin to Mount Ogden.

‘The Oaks,’ An Ogden Canyon eatery beginning in 1903 -- Before the Hermitage -- But closed now

By Lynn Arave

THEOaks is a delightful little restaurant in Ogden Canyon and is the oldest operating business in the Canyon -- even predating the Hermitage.

The Oaks is often stated as having begun in 1907, but it is actually even older.

"The Oak's Summer Resort, A pleasant retreat in Ogden Canyon discovered by City officials today" was a June 10, 1903 headline in the Ogden Standard Examiner.

A group of Ogden leaders on a retreat found themselves "seated beneath the shady trees at 'The Oaks,' as beautiful, clean and neat a spot as can be found anywhere in the canyon, conducted by Potter Bros. of Ogden, Ginger ale, lemonade and soda water, with an occasional stick in it, can be procured here at the usual prices," according to the Standard story.

The City leaders also noticed how well the grounds were kept at The Oaks, at a feast there "on short notice" and also discovered "At this resort, no one under the influence of liquor can be served."

                                      The Oaks in the 1910s.
              -Photo from the Utah Division of State History

In the July 31, 1903 Standard-Examiner was a report of some Ogden sisters who picnicked at The Oaks.

On Aug. 6, 1903, the first outing of the Ogden Automobile Club was a drive to The Oaks and a banquet there, according to the Standard-Examiner. There were tables and meals served in 1903 at The Oaks.

The Standard-Examiner of Sept. 5, 1905 stated that a boxer, Mike Schreck, was getting in shape for a big fight and was training at The Oaks.

The Standard of Sept. 12, 1905 reported that it was the Canyon Resort Company that operated The Oaks and the business was making plans for a new restaurant and cottages. Plans also included a new system of roads through the place and a trail up the mountainside.  

                        The Oaks today, very shady and casual.

"Big time at The Oaks. Celebration at Ogden Canyon a huge success. Great crowd gathered at the popular resort and they had the time of their lives" (at “Valley Day”) was an Aug. 20, 1907 Standard headline. (So, it may be that The Oaks simply hit its stride in popularity in 1907 …)

 "Valley Day" was some sort of Ogden Valley celebration and that was what was being celebrated at The Oaks. Residents from Eden, Liberty and Huntsville attended.

(The Standard of Aug. 5, 1904 had also reported "Valley Day" being celebrate at The Oaks that year too.) 

"Lightning hits The Oaks Resort" was a Sept. 1, 1909 headline in the Standard-Examiner. A resort guest, Miss Bertha Parkinson, was struck by lightning at about 5 p.m. on Aug. 31 as a storm rolled by. The efforts of a Dr. Woolley and others are credited in saving her, as she was believed to have taken the full force of the bolt and was seemingly dead for a time.

The June 26, 1910 Standard-Examiner stated that The Oaks had improved its camping grounds, erected some new cottages and was still famous for the chicken and trout dinners served in its cafe.

                          The outside waiting area at the modern Oaks.


The Oak's own history states that the original Oaks was about a mile from its current location and built by C.S. Potter. It doesn't say if that was east or west, though. It was in 1933 that The Oaks moved to its current location -- higher ground -- to avoid frequent flooding from the Ogden River.

The Oaks was purchased in 1981 by Keith and Belinda Rounkles. They renovated the place into a full service eatery, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

                    A view right from an eating table to the Ogden River.

In 1994, the Rounkles purchased 160 surrounding acres to ensure that the surrounding area remains more natural.

Nestled in some oak and other trees along side of the Ogden River, this restaurant has some indoor seating, but an outdoor table next to the Ogden River in the summer season may require a wait.

The Oaks has reopened in the spring of 2020 under new management.

-The Oaks, 750 Ogden Canyon, was located four miles, or about 7 minutes up the Canyon. Take 12

                               A rugged peak in Ogden Canyon to the north of the Oaks.

Ogden's Lorin Farr Park before rodeo fame: World-class bicycling, different park name

 Charles A. Maccarthy, left, and an another cyclist races around the Ogden "Saucer"
 track in Glenwood Park (now Lorin Farr Park), circa about 1910.                                                            (Photo from Utah State Historical Society.)

By Lynn Arave

MENTION Lorin Fark Park today and it probably conjures up images of Ogden’s famous Pioneer Days Rodeo. However, the Park had a storied history long before rodeo fever took hold in Ogden and much of it was under a different name.

A park was first developed on the site, 769 Canyon Road, in about 1880. However, it was originally called Glenwood Park for more than three decades.

The park was a focal point for Ogden’s Fourth of July and Pioneer Day celebrations. Some of Ogden’s first fireworks displays were staged there.

Football, soccer and baseball games -- even track meets were held in the park during its early decades.

The adjacent Jones’s Grove, by the Ogden River, was considered the most refreshing summer swimming hole in the early 20th Century and even out of town tourists went there to cool off. In late winter, ice harvesting dominated this shady area by the Ogden River.

Long before rodeo came along in the park, there were world-class bicycle races there.

The “Saucer,” an indoor bicycle racing arena (velodrome) was built at the park in 1900. But in 1905, the race track did not make enough money to pay its bills and was struggling.

Still, the Los Angeles Herald had this headline on July 18, 1907:

“CYCLISTS BREAK RECORDS ON OGDEN SAUCER TRACK.”

The story stated: “Time for the Professional Mile Is Reduced to 1:48.1; Amateur Also Sets New Mark for Competitors -- At the Glenwood bicycle saucer track here tonight two world's records were lowered.”

By the 1910s, the rise of the automobile, the sport of golfing and then World War I equaled a drastic demise in the popularity of bicycle racing. Soon, the bicycle arena closed and was torn down.

A group of Ogden businessmen, led by William Glasmann, leased the park in 1911 with the hopes of developing a resort superior to anything Salt Lake City had. That effort didn’t fully succeed, but by 1918 there was a merry-go-round in the park and a children’s playground.

It was recommended in July of 1912 by the Daughters of the Pioneers for a new park name, to honor one of Ogden’s most prominent pioneers. After much debate, some favored the present title and others a neutral “Pioneer Park” moniker, but the Farr name soon won out.

                                             Lorin Farr

Lorin Farr (1820-1909) was a Mormon Pioneer, the first mayor of Ogden and the first president of the Weber LDS Stake. He also used to own the land where the park is and directed the building of a pioneer fort in the area in 1850.

By the 1920s, winter ice skating was a popular pastime at Lorin Farr Park and Ogden City had full control of the park again.  In the summer of 1922, a curfew was put in place and more lights added in the park to help prevent vandalism and teens making out.  Vandals damaged many park trees with hatchets.

In the spring of 1923, the park was spruced up and auto parking was expanded. Throughout the 1920s, a dance hall and “Penny Dances,” with 10-piece orchestra were a summer favorite there.

On July 4, 1923, the park was the center of Fourth of July festivities, with picnicking, games, pony rides and 60-foot tall Ferris wheel.

“Wild West Shows,” a forerunner to today’s rodeos, were popular in early 1900s Ogden and across the nation.

However, “Ogden Rodeo is called off” was an August 4, 1920 headline in the Ogden Standard-Examiner. A lack of proper facilities doomed that rodeo.  The first rodeo was held a year later in September of 1921 at Lorin Farr Park.

“Get ready for Ogden Rodeo” was a July 22, 1925 headline in the Standard. This two-day rodeo attracted cowboys and cowgirls from throughout the west at the Park.

“Two carloads of horses and carload of cattle were purchased for use at the show,” the Standard reported. “One of the added features will be a wrestling match Saturday afternoon between Dan Wynn and Jack Reed.”

“Pioneer Days” was coined/expanded and the Ogden rodeo really took off in 1934 when Ogden’s “Cowboy Mayor,” Harman W. Peery, organized a western festival to boost the spirits of the locals and entice tourists to visit the city. Ogden’s “Pioneer Stadium” was then officially created.

Today, the Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo, run almost entirely by volunteers, ranks alongside such great rodeos like the Pendleton Roundup and Cheyenne Frontier Days. Ogden Pioneer Days, repeatedly voted the best rodeo in the Wilderness Circuit, draws more than 30,000 annually to its PRCA rodeo and corresponding events.

  Lorin Farr Park merry-go-round in the late 1940s.        (Photo courtesy of Rod Nelson.)

Lorin Farr Park’s “Kiddy Land” -- “A little Lagoon,” featured a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, whip ride, train and little boat ride. The first merry-go-round arrived in the late 1940s, but was sold in 1952 and moved to Rexburg, Id., where it still operates. 
Lagoon Corporation added another merry-go-round in Lorin Farr Park in 1954. All the amusement rides were gone by the late 1970s, though.

There were also monkeys – “Buster and Browne” at the Park in a large cemented round pit from the late 1930s until the late 1950s.

In the 1980s, the pool boasted a 72-foot-tall incline where toboggan type sleds slide down and zoom across the water.

In more recent decades, Pioneer Stadium has hosted monster truck shows, truck pulls, car shows, demolition derby’s, bull fights, barrel racing, mixed martial arts competitions, boxing matches, walk-a-thons, circus events and even celebrity appearances complete with helicopter arrivals.

                      The Lorin Farr swimming pool and slides today.

Today, Lorin Farr Park still has a summer swimming pool with water slide tubes and a nearby, 12,800-square-foot skating park. The park also offers two reservable covered picnic areas, playgrounds, rock wall lined walkway along the Ogden River and restrooms. A large parking lot provides off street parking. Lots of shade make this a very relaxing spot and the nearby Ogden River offers fishing opportunities.

A traditional log cabin, once serving as the park caretaker's home, is now a hospitality/VIP facility complete with lighted patio.

                  Lorin Far Park's rodeo stadium.

(-Written by Lynn Arave and originally published in the Ogden Standard-Examiner's "Wasatch View" magazine in July of 2016.)

Layton’s ‘Snow Horse’ gallops into view during most spring seasons

By Lynn Arave

ALMOST every spring, a white shape seemingly trots into view of the Layton area along the Wasatch Mountain side.

The “Snow Horse” is a pioneer landmark and has been noticed in the area most years around the end of May/early June for more than 165 years.

A pioneer legend states that if any part of the snow horse is still visible by the Fourth of July, there'll be plenty of water in the valley throughout the summer. Another variation of that legend is that tender crops should not be planted until the snow horse is clearly spotted, because it's a sign there will be no more frost.

A copy of the photograph of the snow horse that hangs inside Layton City's municipal offices, at 437 North Wasatch Drive.

A more modern variation is that some parents don’t let their children wear shorts, or play in outside water each year until the Snow Horse has been spotted, a confirmation that warm weather has arrived.

The “Snow Horse is located at about 8,500 feet above sea level on the appropriately named Snow Horse Ridge, just east of the Layton-Kaysville border.  Deep ravines along the mountainside, where snow accumulates and remains longer than the surrounding area is what creates the unusual shape. Most years the horse’s legs became thinner and thinner as the snow melts.

                   There was a headless snow horse in the spring of 2013.

This Snow Horse was a “no show” in 2021, 2015 and 2007, because of the meager snowfall then.

Some believe they can also spot a smaller colt-like shape following the horse. Others claim it is a bat-like figure that sometimes appears too.

Layton City Hall contains a photograph of a typical Snow Horse. Snow Horse Elementary School in Kaysville is named after this seasonal landmark, though it is ironically not visible that far south at the school itself.

-There are also other so-called mountain shapes sometimes reputed to be sometimes spotted in the North Davis-Weber County area. Some profess to see a 7 shape on the north face of the mouth of Farmington Canyon.  A banjo shape can sometimes be spotted in the spring from the Hooper-Clinton area around the mouth of Weber Canyon. Also, some claim to see a Scotsman's smiling face on Ben Lomond Peak, north of Ogden, each spring.

-A prime location for viewing the “Snow Horse” is around Layton High School, or near Gentile Street in Layton. However, if you know where to look, the figure can even be spotted from as far north and west as Hooper.

-To best see the “Snow Horse,” count two major peaks going north (left) from the Francis Peak radar towers. Then, on that second peak, look down a long slope and there's where the Snow Horse resides.

(-Written by Lynn Arave and originally published in the Ogden Standard-Examiner.)

Disneyland hearse was NOT Brigham Young's, But there is a small Utah connection to the Haunted Mansion

                       The famous hearse in front of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.


By Lynn Arave

ANAHEIM, Calif. — "There's always room for one more" is the unofficial slogan for Disneyland's popular Haunted Mansion attraction. That phrase could also apply to the growing population of urban legends, including the incorrect belief that the white, horse-drawn hearse in front of the Haunted Mansion is the same one that carried Brigham Young's body from his funeral to his burial place in 1877.

Glen M. Leonard, director of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Museum of Church History and Art, said historical records are conclusive that the hearse couldn't possibly have been used for Young.

"Historical evidence shows no hearse was used," he said.

However, Leonard agrees that it's possible the hearse may have gone to California from Utah, where it could have been used in Salt Lake City, though probably after President Young's time.

Dozens of Internet sites claim the Haunted Mansion hearse was used for Young. Some Disneyland visitors even report that tour guides occasionally tell guests the hearse carried Young. Other Web sites debate the issue. All it takes is a "haunted mansion and hearse" subject search on the Web to find these sites.

A KUTV-Ch. 2 special report on Feb. 11, 2001 featured the Haunted Mansion hearse and included extensive research on the vehicle's history. However, the report upset Leonard because he felt it perpetuated the mystery about the hearse.

The KUTV report was done with a tongue-in-cheek style and concluded with some uncertainty on the issue when Leonard said there is none.

(Another KUTV report on the hearse aired on May 12, 2016.)

He prefers to view this widespread, incorrect belief as the result of "poor research," rather than an urban myth.

Leonard said Young's will was explicit about his funeral and burial. President Young died in the Lion House on Aug. 29, 1877, and his body was carried on a platform by clerks and employees, as prescribed in the will, to the Tabernacle for the funeral. Afterward, the same pall bearers hand-carried the casket up South Temple, through Eagle Gate and to the small private cemetery at First Avenue.

No wheeled vehicle was used in the transport of the body for the few blocks it needed to be transported.

Disneyland sources also expressed some doubt about the hearse's Brigham Young connection.

"It is documented to the extent that it can be documented," said John McClintock, a regional publicity manager for Disneyland. "It is at least a widespread belief that the hearse carried Brigham Young. . . . However, the proof is hardly indisputable."

Disneyland acquired the hearse from a Malibu collector, Dale Rickards, who had nothing to trace the ancestry of the wagon. Apparently there were once some documents of authenticity, but when the previous owner of the hearse, Robert "Dobie Doc" Cottle of Las Vegas, died, the papers apparently disappeared.

There are also rumors of a Young family from the Salt Lake area owning the hearse before Cottle got it, but no one's been able to verify that either. That possible "Young" connection could be the source of the Brigham Young link.

The Disney Archives had no additional information available on the hearse.

The KUTV report included extensive research on horse-drawn hearses and discovered the hearse could be an 1890s vintage, too recent to have been associated with Brigham Young. And there is some evidence in old Utah historical photographs that the hearse could have actually been used in Utah in the 1890s and thereafter until motorized hearses became available.

That's the only mystery left with the hearse: Did it come from Utah?

To Disneyland, the hearse is a prop, and there is no official sign that connects it to Brigham Young. In fact, the manufacturer's plate on the hearse is missing, so its origin cannot be verified.

McClintock said the Haunted Mansion continues to be one of the park's more popular attractions, and since many Utahns frequent Disneyland, the hearse and a possible Brigham Young connection are discussed frequently.


-Notwithstanding the Brigham Young myth, there is one actual tie to Utah – and Mormons – for the Haunted Mansion.

When actor Kurt Russell narrated an insider’s look at the newly opened Haunted Mansion in 1970 for Disney’s “Wonderful World of Color” TV series, he was accompanied on the tour by none other than the Osmond Brothers from Utah.

There’s a 10-minute YouTube video available of this “World of Color” segment at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEPdN__ZmYo

-Written by Lynn Arave in the Deseret News on Feb. 23, 2001 and revised and then published on Feb. 24, 2017.


The Web address to the original Deseret News story is:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/827116/Disney-hearse-has-no-link-to-Brigham-Young.html?pg=all

From a residence to a funeral home to restaurants and shops

       The Little Taste of Britain restaurant and other shops on Layton's Main Street in 2016.


EVOLUTION is the name of the game for most businesses.

What exists on one site today, may not have been the case decades, or even just a few years ago. Many locations sport a colorful history of occupants.
One site on Layton, Utah's Main Street is a prime example of this.
Located at 1095 North Main Street, the Little Taste of Britain restaurant anchors some other adjacent businesses in "The Cottage at Layton" strip mall, west of Shopko.
El Mate, an international market, Soda Crazy, a soft drink outlet, Jarochos Mexican Food and even an income tax preparation office are all located in the small strip mall. The basement property is currently looking for a tenant.

Let's trace the evolution of this property:
In the early 1950s, the north end of this business property was the home of Ray and Mary Dawson. 
"The Dawson home was a real show place in its time," according to Bill Sanders, director of the Layton Heritage Museum.
(These Dawsons were the parents of Davis High Coach John Dawson, a legendary prep sports mentor, who passed away in 2010.)
Ray Dawson died in about 1960, while mowing the large lawn that surrounded his home at 1095 North Main.
Shortly thereafter, his widow sold the property to the Layton Union Mortuary.
This Union Mortuary was an extension of the Bountiful Union Mortuary, 295 North Main, in Bountiful That mortuary began as an offshoot of Union Furniture Company in about 1933 under the leadership of Merrill Holbrook. It was first called Union Mortuary in 1934 in a Davis County Clipper newspaper article of Aug. 10 that year.
The Davis Clipper of June 9, 1937 reported that George W. Graham, an undertaker, was moving back to Layton, his former home. That was the year when Graham started a funeral home in Layton, located perhaps on South Main Street. This was a branch of Bountiful's Union Mortuary.
"New Mortuary Open" was a March 31, 1961 headline in the Davis County Clipper. This article mentioned a public open house on April 1-2 for the Union Mortuary, now at 1095 North Main Street., on three acres of ground in an 11,000-plus-square-foot building. The facility boasted six viewing rooms, a chapel, a four-car garage and an apartment.
Layton Union Mortuary operated from 1961 to 1972. Bodies were prepared for burial in the basement. There was also a furnace for cremations.
Gerald Thomson and his family lived in the apartment section of the funeral home for some years, until they built their own residence about a block to the west.
Merrill Holbrook, president of Union Mortuary, died on Jan. 14, 1972. Soon after, the Bountiful location was sold to Russon Brothers and became their funeral home, the first one outside of Salt Lake County, for that company.
The Layton Union Mortuary soon closed.
(Eventually Layton attracted two other mortuaries -- Lindquist's and Myers -- on the east side of town.)
Some years later, perhaps the late 1970s, Carlos Produce leased the former funeral home building and operated for more than a decade there, selling fruit and vegetables. A lot of their produce was stored in the basement.
The property was eventually converted into a strip mall with various suites. Little Taste of Britain opened there in 2008, but many other small businesses came and went before that, and after that time. For example, there was a private club/restaurant, the Empress Club, located there for some years too, long before Little Taste of Britain came along.

Layton: A bustling city built on two “Hills”

                     Hill Air Force Base, as seen from southeast Layton.

By Lynn Arave

MODERN Layton City is a community that has truly been built on two “Hills” – Hill Air Force Base and the Layton Hills Mall --  to become Davis County’s largest town, as well as a regional shopping hub.

-First there was “Hill Field.”

According to the “History of Hill Air Force Base,” by the Ogden Air logistics History Office, there was an intense competition in the 1930s between Salt Lake and Ogden for location of the new “Army Air Force Base” (precursor to the United States Air Force).

Northern Utah, as an air base in the Intermountain area, had been rated a suitable location for an air mail terminal back in 1934, during the U.S. Army’s failed Air Mail experiment.

However, in the end, it was geography, not lobbying that tilted in favor of the Ogden area. Weber Canyon, “the largest hole in the Wasatch Front,” was a very attractive natural asset. The winds kept the canyon’s mouth and area mostly free of fog and early airplane pilots had followed the canyon as a landmark, that also boasted high visibility.

The former “Sand ridge,” a plateau north of Layton City, was selected as the best location for an air base.

The U.S. Congress approved $8 million in July of 1939 to establish the Ogden Air Depot. Six months later, in December, the War Department selected the name “Hill Field,” in honor of the late Major Ployer Hill, who had perished in an experimental aircraft accident in 1935.

An official groundbreaking was held on Jan. 12, 1940 and the facility was built and expanded from there.

Surprisingly, the main gate to Hill, the “South Gate” (also ironically on a high hill/plateau in the area) emptied into Layton, not Ogden.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, many additional aircraft were transferred to Hill from the west coast, for additional protection.

It was the presence of Hill Air Force Base that weaned Layton from an agricultural base into a more urban setting. Layton’s population soared by 435 percent, from 646 in 1940, to 3,457 in 1950, mainly because of Hill.

New housing also boomed in Layton because of Hill. The Layton Trailer Park, with 300 units opened in 1942; Sahara Village, with 400 units came by 1944; Hillcrest Village, on the west corner of today’s South Gate, opened in 1942 and could house 2,500 residents.

Layton also experienced a business boom in 1946, following World War II, with its expanded population.

By 1947, the Army Air Corps became the U.S. Air Force and Hill was renamed Hill Air Force Base.

While Hill’s workforce was some 22,000 in 1943, it was reduced to just over 3,000 in 1946, following World War II’s end. Yet, new contracts, responsibilities and the Korean War increased employment steadily after that.

Hill had 11,864 military and civilian personnel in 1954; by 1966 the total was 18,436 and by 1986 it was 21,775, all as Utah’s largest single employer – all on the doorstep of Layton City.

According to the latest Hill AFB economic impact statement, there are now 23,969 total personnel within Hill Air Force Base, including 8,606 military and dependents and 12,363 civilians. Hill AFB has an annual federal payroll of $1.23 billion and annual expenditures of $907 million. Annually, Hill AFB creates approximately $1.19 billion in jobs created with a total of $3.32 billion in total annual economic impact.

-The Layton Hills Mall is Layton’s other significant “hill.”

“Work set to begin on Layton Hills Mall” was an Aug. 4, 1978 headline in the Davis County Clipper.

The Mall was then described as a mammoth indoor shopping center with some surrounding businesses, conveniently next to I-15. It opened after more than two years of construction.

Some of the land eventually developed into the Layton Hills Mall used to be the old 20-acre Layton Trailer Park.

The Layton Hills Mall opened in the spring of 1980 and was renovated in 1996.

Today it has more than 100 stores, with three anchor tenants and more than 576,000-square-feet of retail floor space.

The Layton Hills Mall, though not on an actual “hill,” has over the decades attracted many more businesses to Layton. “Restaurant Row,” Layton’s famed cluster of eateries, grew out of the Mall’s success. Layton had only two “sit down” restaurants in 1983,” but thanks to the Mall it boasts dozens and dozens today.

In addition to the Mall, Smith’s Food and Drug constructed its regional offices, plus dough/dairy plants and a distribution warehouse in Layton in the late 1970s in Layton.

-Additional reference source: http://www.hill.af.mil

(-Originally published in the Layton City newsletter.)

1915: When David O. McKay’s stolen car ended up in Layton

                       David O. McKay in the 1960s as president of the LDS Church.

"JOY riders ditch an auto for horse and buggy” was a May 5, 1915 headline in the Ogden Standard-Examiner.

An automobile belonging to David O. McKay, 38, an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was reported stolen in Ogden the day prior.

The auto was found in Layton, near the train depot.

It was believed that the same thieves who stole Elder McKay’s car and took a joy ride, abandoned it in Layton. The thieves then stole a horse and buggy belonging to a night watchman at the depot, so they could return to Ogden.

(-From the Layton, Utah web site.)

Some notable Church policies from 1963

NOTE: This story is most suitable for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, given the depth and extensive details provided therein.

By Lynn Arave

THE Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) has experienced many policy changes over the decades.

Rapid growth alone has prompted many changes in Church policies over the years.
Below is a look at some of the more unusual of the Church's policies, as stated more than 50 years ago in the 1963 General Handbook of Instructions:

1963 LDS Church policy examples:

-In the 1960s, ALL stake presidents, stake clerks, bishops, high priest presidencies were supposed to ALL be set apart by a General Authority, either a member of the First Presidency, the Twelve, an Assistant to the Twelve or from the First Council of the Seventy. However, assistant stake clerks could be set apart by the stake president.

-BEFORE reorganizing any high priests quorum, a stake president was supposed to consult with a General Authority.

-Stake high council members and alternate members of a high council were still chosen by Stake presidencies and approved by the high council, but all new high councilors still needed to be interviewed by a General Authority. (Note that alternate high councilors do not exist today.)

-"Sunday Schools should not closed on the day of stake conferences," the 1963 handbook stated. All classes, except those for adults were still expected to be held back then. However, all church members, young and old, were still encouraged to attend stake conference and as such could be excused from Sunday School on that day. "... any class in Sunday School may, under proper supervision, attend the stake conference in a body," the manual stated. (Note that back in the 1960s, there was both a morning and an afternoon session of stake conference held. All church members were encouraged to attend both -- the afternoon session especially, a time period when NO Sunday School was held.

-Senior missionary couples DID NOT have an option to choose where they wanted to serve back then.

-"Stake presidents are not to release any bishop without prior permission from the First Presidency to take such action," the 1963 Handbook stated.

-"If sacrament meetings are held in the afternoon, stake and ward officers are expected to arrange firesides or other special meetings for the young people in the evening so they will not be enticed to go to picture shows, the canyons, or otherwise violate the Sabbath," the Handbook said.

-"Those who are invited to take part in the services (sacrament meetings) should remain until the close of the meeting; otherwise they should not be invited to take part," the Handbook stressed.

-"While the clothing and general appearance of those who administer and pass the sacrament should be neat, clean, and conservative, it is not desirable to require such uniformity in dress and action as to give the appearance of formalism. White shirts and modest ties are always appropriate and should be encouraged," the Handbook said.

-"Missionary farewells" were noted as being proper in the 1960s.  Talks by missionaries, family members and the bishop were all acceptable then. Missionary farewells with "entertainment" programs were to be held on a weekday, not Sunday, and their programs had to be approved by the Bishop.
"Home receptions following Sunday farewell testimonials should be discontinued as being out of harmony with Sabbath observance," the Handbook said.

-Red-colored warning stickers were attached to the white-colored church membership records of members where there was some question relative to extending temple and other privileges to that member.

-"A tithe is one-tenth of a wage earner's GROSS income," the 1963 Handbook specifically defined.

-Fast offerings back then were kept in ward accounts for ward use. However, remaining funds after a month's bills for the needy was paid, were to be sent to the stake president. Funds not used by the stake in a given quarter, were to be sent to the Presiding Bishop's office. If a ward or stake had fast offering needs they could not meet, Church Headquarters sent funds to cover such needs.

-There were NOT formal, as in word-for-word questions asked by leaders to obtain temple recommends in the 1960s. However, pretty much the same subjects of questions used today were suggested as things to ask a candidate -- Word of Wisdom, meeting attendance, morality, no affiliation with opposing groups, sustaining local and general church leaders, etc.

-"Temple recommends expire July 31 of each year," the Handbook said.

-NO temple recommends were to be issued to wives whose husband were not members of the Church. However, such wives could perform baptisms for the dead in temples. 

-Cremation was discouraged (like today). Funerals services were to be held the usual way, but graveside and dedicatory prayers were not necessary. Temple garments and robes were to be removed before cremation (as an opposite of today's policy).

-"Bishops may offer the use of meetinghouses for the funeral services of respected non-members of the Church who may have no direct religious affiliations, or are inactive members of denominational churches.These services may be held according to the rituals of the church of which the deceased was a member, and may be conducted by a clergy man of such church as the family desires," the Handbook said.

-There was a Church Building Committee in 1963, headquartered at 125 North Main Street, Salt Lake City. (However, standards and consistency was not prevalent in Church buildings until 1965, when a new Building Committee was organized.)

-Back then, Church Headquarters paid up to 70 percent of ward and branch operating expenses for utilities and  janitorial services. "Other operating expenses are to be raised locally through the budget," the Handbook stated.

-In 1963, there were priesthood quorum dues and relief society annual dues -- AND they were not included in ward budgets.
Ward budgets did include the "Boy Scout Council Quota." (So, yes, FOS did exist in some form back then too.)

-Members of the Church who work for state liquor stores, or who are engaged in the trafficking of liquor "should not be assigned as stake or ward officers," the Handbook stated.

When Goblin Valley was Mushroom Valley

By Lynn Arave


GOBLIN Valley was originally known as Mushroom Valley.
That's what Arthur L. Chaffin, who roamed the area and was the first known white man to report seeing the formations called it in the 1930s.
Chaffin starting exploring the area in 1932, when there weren't even any established roads there. 
He finally bragged about this "Mushroom" Valley" in 1949 he took some outside visitors along with him to see it.

Utahns were impressed. By 1964, it was purchased and designated as a Utah State Park. "Goblin" won out as a name, being more mysterious and colorful than a mushroom title.
However, the road into Goblin Valley was not paved until about 1990. It used to be a wash-boardy sandy road for the final 7 miles or so to the park.

(-The Davis County Clipper newspaper of Oct. 30, 1964 ran a feature on the new state park.)

When Arches National (Monument) Park was chained shut

By Lynn Arave

"Vandalism in Arches forces action" was a May 3, 1962 headline in the Moab Times Independent Newspaper.
"A two-month siege of destructive vandalism in the Arches National Monument confines has forced park officials to chain the entrance of the scenic attraction and ban visitors from the area from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.," the newspaper reported.
Signs destroyed, toilets filled with rocks, extreme litter and damage to a foot bridge were all acts of vandalism prompting the action.
Of course, this closure didn't last for long. The place was designated a National Park in 1971 and by then, vandalism had eased up.

                                                                   Photo by Liz Arave Hafen.
-Delicate Arch, the most famous icon in the park, was originally called "The Chaps" by area cowboys. "Bloomer's" was another nickname for the feature as well.
It looks likely that it was in 1934 that the feature was dubbed "Delicate Arch." The local newspaper, the Times Independent, called the feature "a beautiful delicate arch" in a January 18, 1934 story. That name stuck and sounded far better than the other two monikers.
Hiking to Delicate Arch was far different prior to 1953. A different trail was used then that required the use of handrails. It was in 1953 that the current trail was implemented, where it accesses the Arch from the north.

                       Today's trail over slickrock to Delicate Arch.

-To access Arches before 1939, today's back entrance -- far north of today's main entrance -- was often used. The road off Highway 191 at a low point of what was then known as Moab Canyon, was then built steeply up the mountain side.

That road was extended in 1948 to reach past Delicate Arch and to Devil's Garden. By 1958, that road was paved. However, it would be the late 1980s before the side road to the Delicate Arch trailhead and lookout were also paved.

Logan Canyon tree outdates civilization

By Lynn Arave

"UTAH tree 3000 years old. Logan Canyon tree outdates civilization" was a July 24, 1924 headline in the Salt Lake Telegram Newspaper.
The newspaper account stated: "A gnarled old tree, seen doubtless hundreds of times by cattle and sheepherders, but given no particular attention, as it was not on a direct trail nor within sight of the main road, has sprung into fame of late and is hailed as a great discovery."
The story reported that a botanist, Maurice Linford, then a student at Utah Agricultural College (today's Utah State University), discovered it in about 1923 and recognized it as being around 3,000 years old.

"Queen Juniper" was what many called the old tree initially, though over the decades "Jardine Juniper" is the name that took hold.
In the first couple of years after its discovery, Boy Scout Troops and nature students -- hundreds in total number -- visited the remarkable tree in the summer months.
The tree sits as an old queen overlooking Logan Canyon, some 1,700 feet up, like some ancient sentinel that dates back to perhaps 2200 BC., the "Bronze Are."

-Today, a 5.2 miles, one-way trail, leads to the Jardine Juniper. Just park at the end of a road on the Wood Camp Campground turnoff in Logan Canyon , about 10 miles up the canyon.

                        Early portion of the trail to the Jardine Juniper.