A slew of encounters with bears around 1900 in Utah

                       A stuffed bear at the Prairie Scooner restaurant in Ogden.

UTAH residents had an unusually high number of encounters with bears around the turn of the 19^th Century.

Here are some of the tales:

-“Bear killed at Bountiful. Melon patch lured a grizzly too near a Sunday-School” was an Aug. 31, 1897 headline in the Salt Lake Tribune. A 400-pound grizzly took a Sunday morning stroll to a melon patch just as an East Bountiful Sunday School let out. Dick McLean grabbed a Winchester and downed the bear with one bullet. Simon Bamberger gave McLean $25 for the bear’s hide, while McLean dined on bear steaks.

The Logan Herald of Sept. 16, 1897 carried the headline, “Killing a bear.” Thomas Clegg killed a big brown bear in Provo Canyon, near a mill he operates. The bear was almost 600 pounds and Clegg expected to earn $50 from the animal’s hide.

 -“If you kill a bear in Weber County, you will get five dollars” was a headline in the Aug. 24, 1897 Salt Lake Tribune.

-“How bruin was killed” was an Oct. 14, 1897 headline in the Ogden Standard. Davis and Weber Counties Canal Company workers were on their way from Morgan up East Canyon, when they noticed a large black bear comfortably resting up a tree. Being without arms, some of the men watch the animal, while the others went in search of a rifle. The bear growled and snorted at his watchers.

“It took three well directed shots to dislodge him from the top of the tree … A couple of more shots laid him out,” the story stated. The bear weighed about 500 pounds and it took 4 men to drag him from the creek, where he had fallen.

The Salt Lake Tribune of June 12, 1903 had the headline, “Black bear killed. Herder slays beast short distance from Mt. Pleasant.” N.C. Peterson killed a large black bear while herding sheep. Six other bears have been seen in the area.

“Bear steaks in order. Gabriel Johnson brings bruin’s carcass to town after exciting hunt” was an Oct. 25, 1904 headline in the Deseret Evening News. A bear was killed in Parley’s Canyon. Johnson only had 5 bullets. He shot the bear twice with little effect and then the bruin came after him. Running away, Johnson fired two more, missing the beast. Finally, after a half-mile run and with just one shot left, he turned and fired, finally bringing the bear down. However, the noise brought other bears into sight and Johnson departed quickly. He returned the next day with a wagon to pick up the bear and sell it to a local butcher for $50.

“Adventure with bears. Miner on Gold Mountain chased by two ferocious beasts” was a March 21, 1898 headline in the Salt Lake Herald. William Morrison encounter two bears while leaving a mine near Richfield. “The grizzled terrors looked at him  and he looked at them; then they humped up, grunted and started for him,” the story stated. Morrison raced to a cabin and nearby woodchoppers chased the bears away.

-"Killed a Monster Bear” was an Oct. 17, 1904 headline in the Ogden Standard-Examiner. Frank Adams of Hooper killed a 900-pound grizzly

 “in a desperate encounter” in northeastern Weber County. The man only had a .22 rifle.

“With a nerve and accuracy which is astonishing under the circumstances, he began firing as rapidly as possible … The little missiles seemed to have no effect … Thirteen shots were fired while the bear was approaching, the last striking under the eye and penetrating the brain; but none too soon, for the brute literally fell at the feet of the brave hunter,” The Standard reported.

‘Know Your Utah’ sought to teach residents history in the mid-20th Century

“KNOW Your Utah” was a big campaign in most Utah newspapers starting in 1947, the 100^th anniversary of the arrival of the Mormon Pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley. The annual campaign continued into the mid-1950s.

Sponsored by the Sons of Utah Pioneers, the event released brainteasers and obscure historical facts to the public. For example, the Vernal Express newspaper of Jan. 2, 1847 and the Salt Lake Telegram of Jan. 10, 1949 listed:

-Part of Utah’s farmland lies in the Columbia River drainage system: some 2,400 acres, or about four square miles in the extreme northwest corner of the State.

-The original eight counties of the Provisional State of Deseret were: Davis, Iron, Salt Lake, Sanpete, Tooele, Weber, Utah and Uintah.

-The first company of Pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley included 143 men, three women and two children. For the remainder of 1847, another 1,700 pioneers arrived.

-If ancient Lake Bonneville were restored to its original depth, some 100 Utah communities, or about 90 percent of the State’s population would be under water. Temple Square would be submerged by 850 feet.

-Utah, in 1947, ranked sixth among the States in the production of turkeys.

                      Miles Goodyear Cabin in decades past.

-The oldest cabin Utah resides in Ogden, the Miles Goodyear Cabin in Tabernacle Park, build in 1844 or 1845.

                      The Miles Goodyear Cabin today.

-Utah’s population was 1,631 by end of 1847; was 40,000 by 1865; and was well over 600,000 in 1947.

-The Tabernacle on Temple Square was originally built without a balcony. Completed in 1867, the balcony was added in 1870.

-In 1878, the town of Silver Reef, 17 miles north of St. George, was one of the larger towns in Utah territory., with several thousand residents. The mining town is now deserted and only one building remains.

-In 1945, for the first time, ever, Utah led the nation in the production of gold, with 28 percent of the U.S. total. Also, in 1945 Utah produced more iron than all other western states combined.

-Life Magazine on Nov. 25, 1946 named the former Geneva Steelworks in Utah County “perhaps the world’s finest heavy industrial plant.”

-There was a thriving slave trade in Native American women and children by the Spanish and Mexicans in Utah Territory. Slave traders followed part of Escalante’s original trail and either stole or bought slaves Eventually Ute Chief Walker helped block the trail and set up a toll on slavery. Eventually, Brigham Young went to considerable effort to stamp out such slave trading. (-From the Springville Herald, Jan. 16, 1947.)

-“Sugarhouse was founded on April 23, 1854 and named by its residents for a sugar mill erected there in 1852 by early settlers. Machinery for the mill was purchased in Liverpool, England for $12,500 and shipped to its destination by water as far as Council Bluffs, Iowa, then overland by 52 ox teams, in a 4-month trip to Salt Lake City. As a commercial enterprise, the sugar mill was regarded as a failure, with only black syrup or molasses being produced. Later it was converted into a paper mill, supplying early Salt Lake valley needs.” (From the Salt Lake Telegram on Jan. 8, 1949.)

A look at Salt Lake City’s 4 different public libraries and more …

 “S.L. outgrows 1905 Library” was a Jan. 10, 1947 headline in the Salt Lake Telegram newspaper.

The story stated that the library building, designed to serve a population of 35,0000, was now outdated with a then, in 1947, population of 180,000.

Located at 15 South State Street, this library was overcrowded and strained by 1947. The facility also had some fire safety concerns.

The story stated that the American Library Association had declared Salt Lake’s library as one of the poorest in the west.

“The library needs money,” the story stated.

The total circulation of books in 1946 was almost 800,000, an increase of more than 40,000 over the previous year.

The bad news that it would still be 17 more years until a new library, the third version, opened at 500 South and 200 East.

After a $400,000 renovation, the former library building became the Hansen Planetarium from 1965 until 2003. (Then, the Planetarium had a new facility at 110 S. 400 West).

Salt Lake City outgrew its third library by the end of the 20^th Century. In 2003, an $84 million new library facility opened at 210 E. 400 South.

Note that Salt Lake City’s first library was located in the Salt Lake City and County Building. It operated there for only six years, from 1898 to 1904.

-“Destroy landmark of pioneer days” was a July 23, 1913 headline in the Ogden Standard-Examiner newspaper.

A chain gang of vandals had destroyed an old adobe wall in City Creek Canyon, that was part of a pioneer mill built in 1847. George Crisman constructed the mill (to grind wheat) and wall with the encouragement of Brigham Young.

-The first private roller skating rink ever built in Utah opened in Mill Creek Canyon, at Oakwood” in 1906.

According to the Salt Lake Telegram of July 12, 1906, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin F. Holmes were building the outdoor rink, that was 60 feet by 60 feet.

“It is for the use of the young people that visit it,” Mr. Holmes stated in the story.

At that time, in the early 20^th Century, there was a roller skating craze in the nation. Even Saltair resort, on the southern shores of the Great Salt Lake, was also planning to create its own roller skating rink.

-Mill Creek Canyon was a big draw in 1937. According to the Salt Lake Telegram of Jan. 21, 1938, with 176,420 visitors during 1937.

Big Cottonwood was the Salt Lake County leader with 217,247 visitors in 1937. Little Cottonwood Canyon only had 13,610 patrons.

The beginnings of Salt Lake’s Liberty Park – on Independence Day; Plus, small S.L. private cemeteries

LIBERTY Park is one of the gems of Salt Lake City. It is also the oldest park in Utah, opening in 1882.

Located between 900 and 1300 South and 500 East and 700 East, this 80-acre paradise is Salt Lake City’s second largest park, ranking only behind Sugarhouse Park (110 acres).

“Liberty Park” was a headline in the Salt Lake Herald newspaper of June 29, 1881 and also one of the first known printed references to the park.

The Herald stated that the area was formerly the Mill Farm. Salt Lake City purchased the land for $21,009.

A committee appointed by the Salt Lake City Council to study the park and its development had discussed what to name the facility and Liberty Park is what was decided. The fact that a program was planned for July 4, 1881 – Independence Day -- at the new park site also likely helped decide its name.

A year later, in 1882, the park had picnic and other facilities and offered a slice of nature at the southeast end of downtown.

-Heber C. Kimball, prominent Mormon pioneer and early LDS Church leader, is not buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Like Brigham Young, his burial site resides elsewhere downtown.

“The Kimball Cemetery” was a June 21, 1890 headline in the Deseret Weekly newspaper. On the July anniversary of the birthday of Heber C. Kimball, family and friends met at the small cemetery to pay their respects.

This Kimball Cemetery is located at the rear of the original Kimball family homestead, near the head of Main Street. Under a perpetual grant, the Salt Lake City Council allowed cemetery to be located there.

Originally, it was enclosed by a picket fence. In 1890, the Deseret Weekly story stated that an ornamental fence now enclosed the sacred ground.

The story stated that the only large monument remaining at the time was that monolith for President Kimball – in the center, the others having been removed. The ground had been recently leveled on all sides and lawn planted.

The Kimball family was renovating the Cemetery back then. Some of the inscriptions of various graves had already crumbled to dust.

Today, the Kimball Cemetery is located just northeast of the Kimball Condominiums, 180 North Main Street. A small, narrow entrance heading off the sidewalk, north of the Kimball, leads back to the Cemetery. Thirty-three total Kimball family members are buried there, along with 13 Whitneys and 10 others.

                                 Brigham Young's "grave."

-Like Heber C. Kimball, Brigham Young is not buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. President Young is buried in a separate small cemetery at 140 E. First Avenue. Eliza R. Snow, former LDS Church Relief Society President is also buried there.

There is also a pioneer monument on the site.

However, the actual grave location there of President Young – despite the monument -- isn’t publicly known. This has been kept secret to help insure that he one disturbs his final resting spot.

1942: Utah’s first ever regular traffic jams were in Weber County, not S.L.; More WW2 tales

          The infamous "Death Curve" in Roy at 1900 West and Riverdale Road.

UTAH'S first ever regular traffic jams didn’t take place in the state’s most populous county, Salt Lake,  but in Weber County instead.

“Utah traffic peak reported on U.S. Highway 91. Safety Council notes heaviest travel in Weber County in study for tire conservation and car pooling,” a Sept. 18, 1942 headline in the Salt Lake Telegram stated.

It was the effects of World War II and all the federal defense installations in Weber County and north Davis County that fueled this road traffic.

“The northern part of U.S. Highway 91 in Utah, particularly in Weber County, is carrying the ‘heaviest traffic in the state’ and the ‘’heaviest traffic any Utah road ever has been called upon to bear,’” the story reported.

Traffic increases on Highway 91 in Riverdale were reported to be up as much as 245 percent over the previous year.

                              1900 West sign in south Roy.

                           1900 West (northbound) in Roy today.

In that era, there was no I-15. Highway 91 was essentially Main Street in Layton, State Street in Clearfield, 1900 West in Sunset and Roy and then Riverdale Road into Ogden. And, the infamous “Death Curve” was where Riverdale Road ended on the west and a sharp turn was required to turn south into Roy onto 1900 West Street.

                          Hill Air Force Base, top.

-More WW2 Utah effects: “Girls! Here’s chance to meet daring Army fliers; Serve your country and earn money, too” was a Nov. 3, 1942 headline in the Telegram.

“Hill Field,” the Ogden Air Depot (and now Hill Air Force Base), was seeking 30 young women to serve as receptionists for incoming planes. “They will meet all planes landing at the field, direct the pilots to parking areas, or park the planes themselves by means of tow tugs,” the story stated.

Other job duties would be arranging pilot accommodations and pay would be $1,200 a year (approximately $17,600 in today’s dollar values).

These job openings were part of a trend caused by World War II – many more women were needed to join the workforce.

-Davis and Weber County were well-known homes to many Utah military and civilian government personnel involved in the World War II efforts. However, surprisingly so was Morgan County. “Como Springs summer homes for war workers” was a Nov. 20, 1942 headline in the Morgan County newspaper. With home availability in Ogden expected to be up to 1,000 short, 56 summer homes at Morgan’s Como Spring resort were rebuilt to house government employees.

-World famous comedians Lou Costello and Bud Abbott of “Abbott and Costello” came to Salt Lake City in July of 1942 to promote war bonds.

“A pair of funny men came to Salt Lake City Wednesday on serious business,” the Salt Lake Telegram of July 22, 1942 reported. Several hundred fans welcomed the celebrity pair at the train station and then they were taken to Hotel Utah in a covered wagon.

Later, they entertained a crowd of thousands, performing on a platform at 200 South Main Street.

Then, they went to Provo, Bingham Canyon, Magna, Fort Douglas, Hill Field and the Ogden Arsenal – all between 11:30 a.m. and early evening, before heading to Idaho.

                   Highway 89 in Layton at Oak Hills Drive.

-Even before America’s involvement in World War II, the U.S. Army had requested that some key roads entering the Wasatch Front be improved and widened. Among these were Highway 30, from Echo through Weber Canyon to Uintah; the “Mountain Road,” from Weber Canyon to Farmington; the roads accessing Hill Field; and even sections of narrow highway in Parley’s Canyon. The Park Record newspaper of Oct. 24, 1940 reported these projects, scheduled to start in the spring of 1941.

                     Highway 193 connects Hill AFB with U.S. Highway 89.

When City Creek Canyon was heralded as a resort; Plus, mosquitoes in Utah’s early decades

                            On the western lip of City Creek Canyon, looking south.

CITY Creek Canyon is one of the natural gems of Salt Lake City. And, “City Creek as a resort” was an August 12, 1883 headline in the Salt Lake Herald.

The story stated that Big Cottonwood Canyon had been the camping resort of choice to date, though it is a long day trip to access it from downtown.

“But City Creek is right at your door; a man can attend to business up to 5 or 6 o’clock and ride or drive up the pleasant canyon six or seven miles in three-quarters of an hour, and remain overnight at a place where blankets are essential to comfort, where the fly doth not buzz and the mosquito settles down with the mantles or night; and the next morning he enjoys a pleasant ride down the cool canyon, where the birds are singing, the green boughs waiving, the waters murmuring and everything is quiet and calculated to assist the proper digestion of bacon, ham and beans.”

                   Looking down into the south end of City Creek Canyon.

“It is a very cheap luxury,” the story also stated, and one of the best ways for bracing against the withering heat of summer.

-Mosquitoes didn’t earn much, if any, press in Salt Lake City’s earliest decades. That may be because the pesky insects were only considered a small nuisance among the ruggedness of pioneer life.

One of the first references of mosquitoes was in the Deseret News on August 9, 1871 under the headline of “How mosquitoes bite.”

Surprisingly, the story states that after mosquitoes suck a person’s blood, they release poison into the wound.

“If he (a mosquito) were as big as a kitten, and his poison as strong in proportion, a ‘bite’ from him would kill us,” the story stated.

(Today we know mosquitoes do suck a human’s blood, but release not poison, but an anti-coagulant

into a wound – and the possibility of them transferring disease, like the West Nile Virus, is a significant danger.)

The Salt Lake Tribune of June 16, 1873 humorously stated, “Mosquito shooting is a favorite pastime in the lower wards” of Salt Lake City.

Indeed, the July 8, 1875 Tribune reported on an outdoor outing to Ogden by Masons at a beautiful grove. It stated, “after reaching the grove, divided time between dancing, croquet, partaking of bounteous lunch and fighting the festive mosquito.”

Next, the Deseret News of August 15, 1877 printed a story, “The Mosquito of the Yellowstone.” The entire story emphasized how bad that the future Yellowstone National Park was infested with the peskiest flying insects ever.

“Anyone who has ever been bitten by a Yellowstone mosquito will not need to be told how he feels … Seriously, the soldiers station in that country find life almost unendurable at this season of the year.”

-In another historical tidbit, a severe summer storm on July 28, 1904 knocked out power during some of the prime evening hours in downtown Salt Lake City. The Deseret Evening News of July 31, 1897 reported that at 5:45 p.m. the power went out. All street cars stopped and electric lights were out and a concert in the Salt Lake Tabernacle was half-way in progress and had to be halted. Then a downpour struck and pedestrians ran for shelter. The outage lasted by 20 minutes in some locations, but far longer in others.

                                              Ogden Canyon in the 1920s.
-Ogden Canyon was the site of a huge explosion on July 30, 1897 at an old powder mill. The Deseret Evening News of July 31, 1897 had the headline, “A terrific explosion.”

There was one victim, William Bowlder, who was described as a “charred and blistered mass of flesh.” The roof of the building was blown 100 feet away and Bowdler was hurled 15 feet from the site. The structure was a total loss.

-Finally, the same Deseret Evening News of 1897 also reported that a young man in Weber County was bitten by a rattlesnake and was slowly recovering. Said to be a “snake charmer” of sorts, who experimented with snakes, the bite was accidental. The bite happened in the community of “Coal Patch,” east of Pleasant View. The man, named Johns, was said to not want to handle snakes anymore.