Is Antelope Island misnamed? Back when transplanted Antelope refused to stay there

                        The upper reaches of Antelope Island, looking northeast.

ANTELOPE Island is by far the largest and most popular isle in the Great Salt Lake. With Utah State Park status, the island is visited by thousands annually. However, is the island technically misnamed?

“Island offers nature study. Antelopes refused to remain. Bathing beaches unsurpassed” was a July 2, 1922 headline in the Salt Lake Telegram newspaper.

The Isle was originally titled “Church Island,” because The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints originally owned it and early pioneers vacationed there.

The Telegram story states, “The name ‘Antelope Island’ became the name in common use after an attempt was made to range a herd of antelope placed upon its hills. The conditions were suited to these animals and their efforts to escape is one of the most tragic stories of animal life.”

The dissatisfied leader of the Antelope jumped in the briny waters and was willing to try and swim up to 16 miles to the enticing green fields of the mainland of Davis County. The other antelope followed. Only one antelope reached the shore and died from exhaustion. The others drowned in the lake.

This extinction apparently happened some years before 1922. And, soon after, a herd of buffalo were placed on the island. They flourished and did not attempt to flee the isle.

                                                   Buffalo on Antelope Island.

In fact, the Davis County Clipper of Sept. 12, 1924 stated, “… for the last thirty years, the name Buffalo Island has been used interchangeable with the other two names (Church and Antelope),” because one of the nation’s largest surviving herds of Buffalo reside there.

Notwithstanding, it must be mentioned that some of the earliest of pioneer visitors to the Island had reported seeing a herd of antelope there.

The Davis County Clipper of Nov. 17, 1933 reported: “Late in the fall of 1848 while riding at the north end of the Island, Lot Smith, Fielding Garr and Heber P. Kimball came unexpectedly upon a herd of antelope …”

 (Heber P. Kimball was a son of Heber C. Kimball.)

Thus, antelope may have naturally lived on the Island in the mid-19^th Century. Perhaps, they were hunted out and later some antelope transplanted there hated the conditions there then. (There may likely still be some antelope living on the isle today, but buffalo far outnumber them.)

So, “Buffalo Island,” instead of “Antelope Island” could have become its official moniker.

MORE HISTORY:

                                                That's not water, it's the Salt Flats.

-“Legislators visit Great Salt Beds” was a March 3, 1909 headline in the Deseret Evening News. The Western Pacific Railroad was showcasing its new train line to Wendover and for many this was the first time they had seen the immense natural feature we call today, “The Bonneville Salt Flats.”

The story mentioned how the railroad had to use dynamite to make deep holes in the gleaming white salt flats to erect telegraph poles. It also mentioned that the salt flats could be of immense value – even to the University of Utah – once the U.S. Supreme Court decided on their ownership. The immense salt could provide the salt needs of the world for a number of years.

It was not until several years later that the salt flats were envisoned as a speedway.

                                                      Visitors walking on the Salt Flats.

-“Expect to break world records … Trial runs are made. Salt beds make ideal racing course; Fast time marked up” was an Aug. 12, 1914 headline in the Salt Lake Tribune.

While they were still called “salt beds,” instead of “salt flats,” and the location of them was given as “Salduro,” a 10-mile course was set up and 141-mile-per-hour speeds were initially recorded there.

That first year of operation, cars often also raced against trains.

-Mount Olympus (elevation 9,026 feet) was a first-rate challenge for climbers in the early 20^th Century. One of the earliest recorded accounts of hiking Olympus was in the Utah Daily Chronicle newspaper of May 21, 1924.  The University’s Hiking Club scaled the peak, despite the presence of large drifts of snow along the way. In fact, the hikers slid down some of the snowdrifts en route off the mountain top.

       The steep climb just below the summit of the southern peak of Mount Olympus.

-Mount Olympus itself was also a haven for moonshine stills during the alcohol prohibition era. The Salt Lake Telegram of Jan. 27, 1926 reported that a peak known for its quality spring water, had been found to house two illegal stills, 1,700 gallons of mesh and 300 gallons of the finished product. Federal authorities seized it all and the alleged operator was out on a $1,000 bond.

-Mount Olympus was also the site of a few accidents in the early 20^thCentury. “Injured S.L. Peak climber” was a July 15, 1936 Salt Lake Telegram headline. Roger Carney, 24, of Salt Lake, fell on the mountain, broke and ankle and lay for 18 hours on a ledge before being rescued.

-The Telegram of Sept. 19, 1949 stated that Ronald Davis, 17 and Deaune Satterfield (no age given), both of S.L., were stranded on Mount Olympus when darkness set in and they were unable to safely climb down. A few short falls in the darkness proved to the young man and woman how dangerous a nighttime descent was. They were able to start a fire with the few matches they had, but still had a chilly night. A Search party, climbing a different side of the mountain, missed them the next day on the way down.

(-Originally published in the Deseret News on December 16, 2020, by Lynn Arave.)

When a possible ski resort was studied in Davis County; Plus, Davis County ‘Avengers’ and more history

                 Bountiful Peak is just south of this upper area in Farmington Canyon.

WHY doesn’t Davis County have any ski resorts?

According to the Davis County Clipper of June 13, 1958, a study was done that year in the Bountiful Peak area (just south of Farmington Canyon) to determine the feasibility of ski runs being constructed there.

Alf Engren, best known for his ski school at Alta Ski Resort and his pioneering of powder skiing, studied the Wasatch Mountains in Davis County for possible ski runs.

“Mr. Engen Was particularly impressed with one spot southeast of Bountiful Peak,” the Clipper stated, indicating that it had more promise than Brighton Ski Resort did. However, the next step was studying aerial photos, along with the feasibility of the Farmington Canyon road being open year-round.

Aerial pictures apparently showed the terrain to be not as suitable as initially thought. Also, the construction of a radar station on Francis Peak to the north compounded year-round travel safety for the area. The Weekly Reflex newspaper of Oct. 6, 1960 stated that the Bountiful Peak was still “being checked out for a ski haven.” That was the last word on a Davis  ski resort. 
The Davis News Journal of May 19, 1959 explained that Davis County had a recreation committee studying the possibility of the winter recreation, located south and east of Bountiful Peak. It even chose an official name, "Big Sky," as the title for the recreation area.

In the end, no ski resort or recreation area ever materialized.

                    A steep area of Farmington Canyon, north of and below Bountiful Peak.

-However, the Clipper of March 10, 1978, reported on a federal proposal to declare the Bountiful Peak area a wilderness area. That never happened either (but at least you can access the area seasonally by the dirt road that goes up Farmington Canyon and heads south along the mountain top to the “B” on the mountainside in Bountiful).

MORE HISTORY:

-The Davis County Clipper of Jun 12, 1942 carried an eye-catching headline in today’s world – “Davis County men join Avengers.” Of course, it wasn’t the Marvel Comics’ Avengers, but it was a World War II unit, the Utah Avengers’ Naval Unit. The men, Harry B. Blanchard and Ernest Lehnhof, were known as “Utah Avengers” and were among 12,235 men at the time who had taken the oath of naval service.

-Just over four decades ago, there was a wild balloon ride in Davis and Morgan counties. "Balloon crew launched from Lagoon; Ends with an unforeseen ride,” was the headline in the May 26, 1978 Clipper. A story, written by Roselyn Kirk chronicled how three people went on a hot air balloon ride and unexpectedly got carried over the crest of the Wasatch Mountains, just south of Francis Peak.

The 250-pound gondola was at the mercy of the winds or lack thereof and the riders were not prepared for the approximate 9,700-foot elevation they reached.

After a chilly ride, they finally landed on a sod farm field in Morgan County, where an ambulance and sheriff’s deputies were waiting. Everyone was safe. A helicopter had been called in from Hill AFB, but the balloon had landed by that time.

-What was perhaps the first mention of bowling in a Utah newspaper? The Salt Lake Tribune of Dec. 18, 1871 carried the small advertisement for the Pioneer Bowling Alley in Salt Lake, where a game cost 25 cents.

-Delicate Arch in Arches National Park has become a Utah icon and is internationally known now. Yet, when did the name first appear in a newspaper?

The Times Independent Newspaper of Moab on Jan. 1, 1934 published a story titled, “The Scenic Appeal of Arches National Monument,” by Frank Beckwith, an archaeologist.

The story could very well be where the Delicate Arch name originated from.

“A beautiful, Delicate Arch. About a mile east of Wolf Cabin Ranch is a pretty arch of pillars delicately carved uprising at once vertically for nearly sixty feet, then arching over to form the complete arch,” the story stated. “This is by far the most delicately chiseled arch in the entire area.

Beckwith later in the story referred to Delicate Arch as “Bloomers Arch” (and “School Marm’s Bloomers” and “Cowboy Chaps” were among some the Arch’s other early titles).

The archaeologist also reported having noticed there were several hundred pounds of ancient dinosaur bones on display, near Wolf’s Cabin.

                                     Wolf's Cabin.

(This story was originally published on November 18, 2020 in the Deseret News.)

Back when dumping raw sewage into the Great Salt Lake was the norm

                          A diminished Farmington Bay as viewed from Antelope Island.

UNTIL the 1960s, dumping raw sewage into the Great Salt Lake was a continual and normal practice along the Wasatch Front.
While the Great Salt Lake was one of Utah's best known attractions, it had been a cesspool for decades.
Davis County leaders finally realized in the late 1950s, that this was not a good environmental practice. "North Davis' sewer treatment plant made ready to operate," was a headline in the Weekly Reflex newspaper of Oct. 2, 1958.

                    The North Davis Sewer District facilities, located west of Syracuse.

This facility cost $1.3 million and featured a high rate filter that was the first of its kind in Utah. The plant was designed so that its water emissions were not harmful to any animal.
Central Davis and South Davis County also developed their own similar sewage plants soon after.
"Construction moves ahead on sewer" was an Oct. 6, 1960 headline in the Reflex, as the Central District in west Kaysville proceeded to build a sewer treatment plant.
However, it was Salt Lake City who stalled on creating a sewage treatment plant.
"Outmoded sewage system mocks modern S.L. pride" was a Jan. 29, 1958 headline in both the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Telegram newspapers.  "Salt Lake prides itself on being a modern city," the story stated. "It is a modern city without a modern sewage system. It is modern city which inflicts raw sewage upon its neighbors to the north and which closes large areas to development because of lack of sewage facilities."
The story reported that there were four badly needed sewer projects in northern Salt Lake County -- a modern sewage treatment plant; a sewer line on Redwood Road; a sewage line on 300 East; and an airport sewer extension.

                  Farmington Bay is to the right (south) of the causeway to Antelope Island.

Yet, even more than three years later, these problems were not solved and Davis County in particular was the most upset. "Davis rakes disposal plant plan" was a March 14, 1962 headline in the Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City was then considering a plan to put a new sewage treatment plant at the southern end of Davis County, just beyond the city limits of North Salt Lake City.  
North Salt Lake City leaders wanted at the least, for such a facility to be west of Redwood Road if it was going to be in Davis County.
"Davis County set the pattern in location of disposal plants by placing them in areas which would not distract from any present facilities," North Salt Lake Mayor Clay Allred said.
Finally, in late 1965, Salt Lake cleaned up its sewage emissions.
"'Cesspool' abandoned after 25 years" was a Sept. 14, 1965 headline in the Salt Lake Tribune. The story stated that the "biggest open-ended cesspool in the country" was now gone. The Tribune had declared that superlative 25 years earlier.
In the fall of 1963, Salt Lake began work on a sewage plant and  it was at the northern edge of Salt Lake County. The end result was described as a first-class plant that cost $8 million and was under the proposed budget.
Notwithstanding those environmental strides, the Deseret News report on April 20, 2002, that "Farmington Bay is a sewage treatment pond." Three sewage treatment plants dump their treated wastewater directly into the bay and several other plants in S.L. County dump their wastewater into the Jordan River, which also dumps into the same bay too. The concern then was all the nutrients this adds to the lake and that the salinity is low because the Antelope Island Causeway has but one opening to mix the bay's water with the rest of the GSL.
An earlier Deseret News story on June 12, 1994 had reported that some geologists feared there were "Fedit masses of pickled sewage" in layers under the Farmington Bay portion of the Great Salt Lake. That's because before sewage treatment plants, the briny waters might have preserved the raw sewage in layers of settlement.
-MORE HISTORY: A Dec. 10, 1959 story in the Weekly Reflex newspaper of Kaysville reported on a lesser known phenomenon in the Great Salt Lake -- that there are freshwater springs in the middle of the lake. That's apparently one of the places where the aquifer releases some its stored water.
Back then, in the 1950s, the Great Salt Lake's ecosystem not was well-known. Thus, this Reflex article stated that a main goal was the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District was "to take all the water before it gets in the Great Salt Lake." It is now believed that this water diversion is a major reason for the lake's low elevation in recent years.

(-Originally published in the Deseret News on Oct. 13, 2020.)

New Layton, Utah History book now available

There's a new Layton, Utah history book, that premiered on October 26, 2020, from Arcadia Publishing in its "Images of America" line.

The book is written by Lynn Arave, also author of this Mystery of Utah History blog.

With more than 170 photographs, this book would make a great gift for any new or long-time Layton resident, or someone who grew up in Layton City.

(There's also a new history blog to accompany this book at: https://laytonutahhistory.blogspot.com/)

--NOTE that the book was delayed by the publisher for 5 months, from May to October 2020, because of the Coroniavirus.

-IF you would like a copy of the new history book on Layton, Utah, you can order it from a variety of sources for $21.99, or less:

--on Amazon


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781467104968&i=stripbooks&linkCode=qs


--Or from Barnes and Noble at:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/layton-lynn-arave/1135498880;jsessionid=BBCAF0636AA08D36361AFE15AF583EBC.prodny_store01-atgap01?ean=9781467104968


--Or from the publisher, Arcadia at:

https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467104968

IF you can't decide if you'd like to purchase a copy of the book, a free 31 page preview of the 127-page book is available from Google at:

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Layton/m0PZDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22lynn+Arave%22&printsec=frontcover

An actual Howard Stark -- Not the fictional father of 'Iron Man' Tony Stark -- And the real one crashed his airplane in Utah

                                        The Monte Cristo Mountains, far background.  

THERE actually existed a real Howard Stark who was both a legendary pilot and an inventor -- and he died in the aftermath of a plane crash in northern Utah.

Mention Howard Stark to anyone today and they may instantly think of the fictional Howard Stark from the Marvel comics and movie universe, who was the late father of "Iron Man," alias Tony Stark.

A June 16, 1936 headline in the Salt Lake Tribune: "Search party follows lost U.S. flier's trail for five miles. Major Stark wandered down Lost Creek from plane after crack-up last January."

My gosh, there was a real Howard Stark who flew airplanes in their early decades!

https://www.newspapers.com/image/598532516/?terms=Search%2Bparty%2Bfollows%2Blost%2BU.S.%2Bflier%27s%2Btrail%2Bfor%2Bfive%2Bmiles

Stark flew U.S. mail in airplanes. He was flying from Rock Springs, Wyoming to Salt Lake City on January 16, 1936, when all radio contact was lost. A winter storm apparently forced him to land on a remote Utah peak, Observatory Peak, 28 miles northeast of Devil's Slide and east of Huntsville, Utah, in a blizzard. His plane was not discovered until 5 months later, in June of 1936, but he was not there and presumed dead somewhere.

Another newspaper article on Stark in the Weekly Reflex of Jan. 23, 1936, stated that he was "a nationally known authority on blind flying."'

https://www.newspapers.com/image/597323448/?terms=a%2Bnationally%2Bknown%2Bauthority%2Bon%2Bblind%2Bflying

The Salt Lake Telegram newspaper of Sept. 22, 1939 carried the headline: "Aviator's body rests in S.L."

https://www.newspapers.com/image/289130912/?terms=Aviator%27s%2Bbody%2Brests%2Bin%2BS.L.

After more than 3 1/2 years, Stark's body was found by a sheepherder.

This story referred to Stark as the "ace blind flier of the department of commerce." He survived his plane crash, but not the winter conditions of trying to walk to civilization.

-If you conduct a Google search for "Howard Stark," you will find six full pages of results all on the fictional Howard Stark of Marvel comics and movies (including posts that speculate on Marvel bringing the character back to life).

Finally, at the top of page 7 of a Google search results is an article in Vintage Plane magazine from May of 2002 about this real life Howard Stark. Its headline is: "Howard Stark: The Pioneer Aviator of instrument flying."

This article, by John M. Miller, says that Stark was flying a Stinson Model S plane for the U.S. Department of Commerce, headed to the West Coast to give more instructors to other flyers about using instruments in airplanes.

Ironically, Stark had never been west before and his plane and equipment were not designed for the high altitude flying of Utah. The author believes he made an emergency landing in a snowstorm and froze to death trying to walk to safety in deep snow and minus 20 degree temperatures.

The author of the article stated that "Howard Stark is really the almost forgotten but true father of today's instrument flying … Howard Stark, Charles A. Lindbergh and Clyde Pangborn are my civilian pilot heroes ... Stark's 1-2-3 system has served as the basis for what we know now as partial-panel flying."

So, there you have it. A snapshot of the real Howard Stark. A first-class pilot and a civilian one, just like the fictional Howard Stark.

Note that the first mention of the fictional Howard Stark in Marvel comics was in the Iron Man comics of 1970. Iron Man made his first debut in 1963, along with Tony Stark. The father, Howard Stark, was added 7 seven years later and it is highly likely that the two Marvel comic writers who created Howard Stark were oblivious to the real one, since he is rarely, but unjustly mentioned in history. 

(-Originally published on August 18, 2020 in the Deseret News.)

RC Willey returns to its roots in Layton with new store: A brief history of RC Willey

                      The new RC Willey store in Layton opened in late July of 2020.

This ad in the Weekly Reflex newspaper of Sept. 22, 1949, lists Layton as the original RC Willey home.

RC Willey was technically originally located in Layton from 1949-1950.
The business' first 15 months of advertisements (see example above) listed Layton as its address, NOT Syracuse.

Since a new RC Willey store is now open in Layton, the business has returned to its roots. (The Syracuse RC Willey store is now closed permanently.)

The first-ever RC Willey advertisement appeared on Sept. 1, 1949 and listed Layton as the business address.
The first ad to list Syracuse as the RC Willey address was some 15 months later, on Nov. 30, 1950 and then again on Dec. 14, 1950 (see ad below).

                           One of the first two RC Willey ads to list Syracuse for an address.

(The new RC Willey in Layton is just northeast of the Antelope interchange at I-15.)

Why did RC Willey list its early address as Layton?
The actual physical store in Syracuse did not open there until 1950. And, since Syracuse lacked its own post office, the Layton address was likely tied to delivery through the Layton Post Office.
Still another possible factor was that Syracuse was NOT an incorporated city until Sept. 13, 1950, or about two months before RC Willey began listing its address as Syracuse.
-Rufus Willey worked out of a garage in Syracuse for the business' earliest years and he used a red truck to deliver items to customers.

  It was probably a red truck like this that delivered the first RC Willey products in the 1950s. This antique truck resides inside the RC Willey Layton store today.

The RC Willey advertisements changed significantly again on June 19, 1954, when they made a reference to "RC Willey and Son" as its owners/managers.

 

                                      Rufus Call Willey in an undated picture .

-Harris Adams, a Layton historian, said he recalls purchasing a Hotpoint stove from RC Willey in about 1950. Adams said he had just $15 to spend on a stove and resigned himself to only being able to afford a used stove from Mr. Willey. However, Mr. Willey kept lowering the price of a new stove the longer Adams held firm. First the price was $250, then $200 and finally $170. When Adams still said he only had $15 to spend, Willey said to give him the $15 for a new stove and pay the remaining $155 when he was able. Adams said that was how Willey usually operated. No written contract, just a handshake.

                                    An inside view of the new Layton RC Willey store.

(However, that unofficial way of giving customers credit was probably also the reason why the RC Willey business was insolvent when Bill Child, son-in-law, took over its operations in late 1954. He had to make it profitable -- and he did over the decades.)

 A 1966 advertisement in the Ogden Standard-Examiner for Layton's other "Willey' store.

-BUT RC Willey also had a second connection to Layton City.
A nephew of Mr. Willey, Jay Willey, operated a similar home furnishings store, the “Satisfaction Center” in Layton, from 1955 until 1983. This store was originally located at 48 East Gentile Street and later moved to 144 East Gentile (when the installation of I-15 in the early 1960s forced it to move) and finally to 250 East Gentile Street. Jay Willey was an appliance salesman for RC Willey prior to starting his own store. By 1983, the store changed owners and became the Brent Allen Satisfaction Center. It closed about 1984.

-Some key dates in RC Willey’s early history:

1932: Rufus Call Willey starts selling appliances door-to-door in Davis County. He specializes in Hotpoint appliances. He works out of his garage and used a little red truck.

                             The former Syracuse RC Willey Store.

1949-1950: RC Willey lists Layton as its address in its first 13 months of newspaper ads.
1950: RC Willey opens its first store in Syracuse, a 600-square-foot cinder block building, next door to his home.

1954: William H. Child takes over the business, after his father-in-law, Rufus Call Willey, dies on Sept. 3, 1954, at age 54.

1969: A second RC Willey store opens in Murray.

1995: Billionarie Warren Buffett purchases RC Willey.

                    An RC Willey delivery truck in Layton on Feb. 12, 2020.

Late July 2020: A new store in Layton opened and the original Syracuse store closed.

                    The Layton RC Willey Store under construction in the summer of 2019.

When Hollywood disliked Southern Utah’s brightly colored terrain – And even got stranded in a slot canyon

             Some of the colored rocks, located northeast of Kanab, near Cottonwood Canyon.

                                                                                                            Photo by Ravell Call

SOUTHERN Utah is world famous for its brightly colored rocks. However, there was a time when Hollywood disliked the Kanab area's landscape.“Colored rocks of Utah plague film company” was an Oct. 6, 1940 headline in the Salt Lake Tribune.

The hues of Kanab area rock were simply too bright for the Technicolor filming process Hollywood was using at that time.

“Thousands of tourists visit Utah every year to gaze with wonder and delight at the brilliantly colored rocks dotting the landscape,” the story stated. “But these same rocks are a source of annoyance and expense to Twentieth Century-Fox now on location here for the filming of Zane Grey’s ‘Western Union.’”

https://www.newspapers.com/image/598868492/?terms=Colored%2Brocks%2Bof%2BUtah%2Bplague%2Bfilm%2Bcompany

What did Hollywood do?

“A crew of men had to be hired to ‘redecorate’ the rocks along Paris Creek, which cameramen said are too bright for technicolor filming,” the story reported.

The extra cost of the painting before filming was not reported, but was believed to be only a small part of the $100,000 (more than $1.8 million in today’s dollar value) that the film studio was expected to spend in the Kanab area for the movie.

And, that wasn’t the only problem Hollywood encountered in the area.

“While scouting for the Paria (Creek) location, Director (Fritz) Lang and his technicolor staff were marooned when a sudden rain filled the arroyos between Paria and Kanab, blocking their return. They spent the night waiting for the waters to recede while a rescue party tried in vain to reach them,” the Tribune story stated.

(This may have been the first public notice that Utah’s slot canyons can be dangerous during storms.)

The studio had 470 employees in town for the movie, as well as using about 300 Kanab residents for extras, cowpunchers and wranglers, etc.

Robert Young, Randolph Scott and Dean Jagger were among the stars in the “Western Union” movie. The Gap and Johnson Canyon were among the other filming locations.

-A similar scenario happened about 10 years later in 1950, when a headline in the Aug. 12 Ogden Standard-Examiner was, “Mountain ‘Flash Flood’ Maroons Hollywood Unit.”

A Hollywood crew of 64 members were stranded after a torrent seven feet deep filled Buckskin Creek, about 40 miles east of Kanab. A heavy rain and hail produced the flood and the crew was delayed about eight hours, until after midnight.

The crew, which included actors Robert Ryan and Walter Brennan, plus actress Claire Trevor, were hungry, but there were no injuries. The RKO movie “Best of the Bad Men” was being filmed.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/598787810/?terms=hollywood%2Band%2Bkanab

 -MORE HISTORY: The Kolob Canyon Road is a scenic drive at the far western edge of Zion National Park. The first mention of a possible paved highway into this area was back in 1955.

The Parowan Times newspaper of May 26, 1955 carried the headline, “Highway into Zion Monument ‘possible.’”

https://www.newspapers.com/image/544506765/?terms=Highway%2Binto%2BZion%2BMonument

The story stated that Zion Park Superintendent Paul R. Franke had visited the Kolob Terrace area and said a road would open up an area even more beautiful than Zion Canyon itself.

In pre-I-15 days, the prospective road was mentioned as leaving U-91 and entering the “finger” canyons of the Kolob Terrace through Taylor/Dry Creek. The road was built in the early to mid-1960s and opened on Sept. 30, 1967.

-There was a “ghost ship” on the Great Salt Lake in the late summer of 1887. The Salt Lake Herald of Sept. 4 that year published the headline, “A strange affair. Mysterious appearance of a Fisher Boat near Lake Park.”

A 12-foot-long rowboat was found unmanned, between “Church Island” (today’s Antelope Island) and Lake Park (forerunner to Lagoon on the shores of the GSL, west of Farmington). The boat was found drifting south, several miles from shore, full of provisions for an extended trip.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/80027409/?terms=fisher%2Bboat%2Band%2Blake%2Bpark

With some difficulty it was towed to shore at Farmington and included clothes, utensils and fishing supplies, but no food.

Where the ship came from was never determined and whether its owner met with an accident, or the boat just slipped out of reach was never publicly recorded.

                                                                           Goblin Valley.

-Goblin Valley is a well-known Utah State Park, established in 1964. However, the area was known by earlier titles. “Mushroom Valley” was its first name, given to it by its discoverer, Arthur Chaffin in 1949. (He had first spotted it in the 1920s, but didn’t return for decades.) According to the Richfield Reaper newspaper of Oct. 1, 1953, the area was also known by a different name – “Little Gnomeland.”

https://www.newspapers.com/search/#query=%22little+gnomeland%22

The article also referred to the formations as goblins, but expressed concern over how easily the shapes could be vandalized, with nearby U-24 being completed, though there was not yet a direct road to the valley itself.

(-Originally published in the Deseret News on July 14, 2020.)

A pair of never built roads in Bryce Canyon National Park: One in the bottom and the other a loop road

BRYCE Canyon National Park had somewhat of a lackluster beginning, being in the shadows of the more highly esteemed sister park, Zion. From almost changing Bryce's name away from "Canyon" (since geologically it is NOT a canyon); to it almost became only a Utah State Park; to being administratively under Zion Park until 1956; Bryce has had some major "what ifs?"
And, here are two others to add to that list -- 1. In 1931 there was a failed proposal to create a loop road from Highway 89 through Red Canyon to Bryce and then back to Highway 89 at Long Valley Junction; 2. In 1951 there was a strong move to build a road on the floor of Bryce Canyon itself.
"Government plans new road to Bryce Canyon" was a March 28, 1931 headline in the Iron County Record newspaper of Cedar City.
This tentative road reached Rainbow Point (where the Bryce park highway ends southward today) and then would head due west to Highway 89 at the Long Valley Junction of U-14.
"The entire road would be about 27 miles long, with five miles being private lands and most of the balance in the Powell and Dixie national forests," the story stated.

                      Today's end of the road southward in Bryce Canyon.

The story also stated, "The new road would make it possible to visit Bryce via the present route through Red Canyon and then return over an entirely different route, eliminating all retracing. Most of the route would be at 8,000 ft. elevation and would add much to the pleasantness of the trip in hot summer months."

                   The parking lot turnaround at the end of 18 miles of road in Bryce Canyon.

Why didn't this road ever get built? Constructing the loop highway was contingent upon the State of Utah being able to cooperate and create five miles of road through the private lands. This apparently didn't happen, likely because of property acquisition issues. 
Yes, the more recent proposal in 1951 was to build a paved road below the rim.

The rugged terrain looking west from today's south end of the road in Bryce Canyon. But if a 1930s proposal had happened, Bryce Canyon National Park would have had a loop road and a highway would have descended below in this picture and connected with Long Valley Junction.

"Civic clubs will support move for road on floor of Bryce Canyon": was an August 30, 1951 headline in the Richfield Reaper newspaper of Utah.
Bryce Canyon put Panguitch, Utah on the national map, as the entrance, the last town before the now popular national park. So, the Associated Civics Clubs of Southern and Eastern Utah, along with the Panguitch Lions Club, held a meeting in town to discuss the idea of a road at the bottom of Bryce.
"The Club agreed to support a suggestion by State Representative John Johnson of Tropic to the effect that a road can be built on the floor of Bryce Canyon so that visitors can view the real scenic attractions of the area," the Richfield newspaper story stated.
It continued, "The main beauty of Bryce Canyon cannot be seen from the rim of the canyon."

                                                 Hikers on the Navajo Trail in Bryce.

                                    Imagine a paved road through the middle of this?

So, there you have it. Of course, the road was never built, but it leaves little to the imagination to envision a road going through the bottom of Bryce. Many, many natural features would have had to have been demolished to make room for such a road. Hiking would also not be a big activity as it is today in Bryce with such a road. Why hike, when you can drive down?

-In 1920, Bryce was just picking up steam with tourists. "Volunteers repair Bryce Canyon road" was a May 6 headline that year in the Salt Lake Telegram newspaper. A "road day club" had just been formed in Panguitch, with up to 47 men volunteering their time to smooth out the dirt road from Panguitch through Red Canyon and onto Bryce so that automobiles had better access.

                                                        The iconic tunnel in Red Rock Canyon.

-Initially, for more than a decade, the road to Bryce Canyon ended at the northwest rim of the amphitheater, probably near today's Sunrise Point. Walking or horse travel was the only way further south.
However, the Salt Lake Tribune of Dec. 6, 1929, reported that the National Park Service had allocated $13,700 to survey and begin to construct a road eight or more miles long southward along the rim of Bryce in the summer of 1930.
This road was "to afford visitors opportunity to view the canyon from many vantage points, instead of the one point now reached by the main highway," the Tribune story stated.
(At the time time, the Park Service allocated $280,000 to improve roads along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, particularly from the Bright Angel Camp to Point Imperial and Cape Royal.)

                       There are some small cliffs along the Navajo Trail in Bryce.

-Finally, while Zion has been host to a lot more accidents than Zion, given its sheer cliffs and towering rocks, Bryce Canyon has also not been immune to accident from falls.
Some examples:
1. "Fall from Bryce Canyon cliff seriously injures Cedar girl" was a June 23, 1932 headline in the Beaver County News. The girl slipped off a cliff near Point Supreme and suffered three breaks in her pelvis bone and a broken arm. It took rescuers several hours to reach her.
2. "Girl has close call in Utah park accident" was a July 13, 1946 headline in the Logan Herald-Journal. The 14-year-old-girl from Buffalo, N.Y. slipped off a sandstone cliff in Bryce and went down 100 feet "before she clutched the edge of a projecting chunk of sandstone -- one of the many spires which have made the canyon famous," the story reported. She was rescued with ropes by a park ranger. The girl's physician father treated her many cuts and bruises, but nothing was broken.
3. The Ogden Standard-Examiner of April 22, 1954, reported that a 61-year-old woman tourist from Illinois died in a fall at the park on April 21 that year. She stepped over a log barrier at the Far View Scenic Point, lost her balance and plunged 90 feet to her death down a cliff. She died instantly.
4. A man died in cliff fall in Bryce in September of 2003.

  -Another milestone in Bryce National Park happened in November of 1936 when it began staying open in winter, to Inspiration Point. Years later, that led to snowmobiling and cross country skiing there.

-Originally published in the Deseret News on June 24, 2020.

When dynamite could have destroyed Lone Peak ...

COULD Lone Peak have been destroyed by a dynamite blast in 1937?

 “Will dynamite crash hilltop(?)” was the headline of an Associated Press story in the Ogden Standard-Examiner of August 19, 1937.

The story stated, “Lone Peak, lofty outcropping of the Wasatch range upon which a great airliner crashed last winter, is to be blasted at its tip into a tomb for the tragedy that claimed seven lives.”

On December 15, 1936, a Western Air Express Boeing 247 crashed just below Hardy Ridge on Lone Peak. Most of the aircraft was hurled over the ridge and dropped over a thousand feet into the basin below.

Lone Peak is an 11,253-foot above sea level summit in the Wasatch Mountains, located east of Draper. (However, strictly speaking, Hardy Ridge is located hundreds of yards south of Lone Peak, above Hardy Lake.)

The A.P. story stated that Western Air Express had secured permission from the U.S. Forest Service to dynamite the mountain top. This was in order to “bury the crash area which now attracts sight-seers and which, because of frequent rock slides, is considered a menace.”

The story stated that the seven bodies, luggage, mail and plane parts were all recovered after six months of searching, followed by two months of digging and removal work.

It does NOT appear that Lone Peak itself was ever dynamited. No reports of such a blast could be found in old newspapers or through Google searches.
However, at least one person who read this report said a book on the history of the plane crash does mention that dynamite was indeed used to cover up the crash site.
(The Lone Peak area includes a lot of unstable looking rock and so an explosion could have likely altered the appearance of the area somewhat.)

In any event, according to www.lostflights.com, Amelia Earhart herself participated in the search for the plane early on, but it wasn’t located until July of 1937 (the month Earhart disappeared).

(There have been four deaths on Lone Peak in the past 20 years. Two were from lightning and two were from falls off cliffs.)

-Notwithstanding the Lone Peak area’s disastrous plane crash, it has always been a popular hiking destination. “Teachers climb peak” was a Sept. 6, 1915 headline in the Salt Lake Telegram newspaper. The story said 15 principals and teachers from the Jordan School District climbed the peak on Labor Day weekend. They faced a heavy wind and snowstorm half-way up the mountain.

-The American Fork Citizen newspaper of Sept. 8, 1923 stated that six men climbed Lone Peak, also on Labor Day weekend. They camped overnight and had a large fire that could be seen from all over the area.

-“Wasatch Mountain Club hikers ascend Lone Peak” was an Aug. 4, 1925 headline in the Salt Lake Telegram. A party of 14 took three days to complete the hike.

-“Hikers climb peak to set new record” was a Telegram headline on Oct. 3, 1938. Wasatch Mountain Club members, Odell Pedersen, W.C. Kamp, Orson Spencer and Keith Anderson all climbed the peak in 3 hours and 58 minutes, one of the speediest times ever.

-Three members of the Wasatch Mountain Club scaled Lone Peak from the east side, that includes a 700-foot-high wall of granite. They did it in July of 1958, according to The Midvale Sentinel newspaper.

                                         Malan's Peak is east of Mount Ogden Park.

-ANOTHER HISTORICAL TIDBIT: This probably wouldn’t be safe in today’s drought conditions, but in the late 1930s, Weber State College students would hike to Malan’s Peak and Malan’s Basin each September and have a block “W” fire.

(Malan’s Peak is east of 32^nd Street in Ogden.)

Some 90 students made the first-ever such hike in 1937, according to the Standard-Examiner of Sept. 20 that year.

In 1938, approximately 150students made the hike. They left the college campus at 6:30 p.m., drove to Taylor Canyon and reached the Basin about 9 p.m. and returned about 1 a.m.

“A flaming W on the mountain was lit at seven-thirty,” the Standard-Examiner of Sept. 10, 1938 reported.

This annual hike eventually stopped, but was restarted in 1988, though the fire tradition ceased.

                                                   Taylor Arave poses on Malan's Peak.

-All material was originally published in the Deseret News on May 13, 2020.