Show OLD DIXIE LAND IS mm ADMIRED BY MS richfield visitors have time u of their lives at the big F fruit ruit festival the delegation of richfield people who left here last tuesday to make a tour through the famed dixie country have been returning to their homes since sunday and all report having had a splendid time in addition to traveling oyer over a section of the state that was new and strange to them the route taken by the travelers after leaving this city was through clear creek canyon to cove fort thence to beaver parowan carowan Pa rowan cedar city over a lofty of ty pass and down a steep incline to st george the run from richfield to points in washington county can easily be made in ten hours but the tourists made no undue haste camping along the wayside partaking of food from well stocked hampers and delaying the time of their arrival in the muc ed dixie until wednesday they found roads everywhere in fairly good condition excepting through clear creek canyon which they pronounced abominable there was much automobile travel by other residents of the state and they never lacked for company en route the fruit festival was in full swing at the time of the arrival of the richfield visitors although they reached the scene too late to partake of the noted peaches which are grown in st george the crop having been gathered a number of weeks ago the fruit festival was in charge of st george people much of it having been grown in that place but exhibits were made by gowers in neighboring towns and the showing made was highly creditable and entirely praiseworthy some magnificent specimens of f ruit fruit were on exhibition notably fine grapes and pears and there was vas a good showing made of figs and almonds both of which flourish at their best in the rich warm soil of washington county watermelons Water melons very ordinary ordin ary specimens weighing 40 pounds and more were a small part of the showing and the richfield delegation feasted on melons during the whole time of their stay in the dixie land many points of interest in washington county were visited by the tourists st george attracted first attention it is quite an old settlement but presents a very pretty appearance with its many fine business houses the magnificent temple and grounds char charming riling residences and public buildings and the general neatness of all environments the altitude of st george is but 2800 feet with a climate that can best be described as semitropical semi tropical A favorite shade tree which grows along all the streets is the mulberry and it presents a handsome appearance in any situation the town is not the great f fruit ruit growing center that visitors have been led to believe fruit in many varieties grows anywhere and everywhere within the confines of the town but is grown almost exclusively for domestic consumption the residents of st george are largely stockmen stoc kmen breed ers of fine cattle and other domestic animals and derive their income from almost any other source than the growing of fruit the fruit festival continued during two days in addition to it there was a program of ball games roping contests and other feats calling for athletic stunts and endurance tests Other settlements and towns in the county to attract the notice of visitors were belleview leeds and to qu erville leeds at one time had a canning factory that built up a reputation for the goods it exported but it now is idle and the machinery is being converted into rust it is noted for its annual production of sorghum which is made from cane grown in adjacent fields toquerville has merged into prominence for the excellence of its canned goods preserving in immense quantities quant ties each year many tons of tomatoes peaches pears and figs all of which are in great demand outside the county washington is one of the largest settlements in the county with a population of between four and five hundred in former years a cotton and woolen mill mili was one of its industries dus tries and in early days people brought their cotton ard and wool to the mill where it was carded and woven into garments which were d worn by nearly everybody the mill is now idle for some reason and it no longer produces cloth or other staples for which there ought to be a demand many automobiles are owned by prominent citizens of washington county and the motor truck has come into use for conveying the varied products of the region to market A visit was made to the big anderson ranch about 25 miles from leeds which is one of the best cultivated tracts in the county and whose owner has become wealthy and is surrounded by every luxury another stop was made at the sevier farm embracing nearly acres which is being brought into cultivation by sevier county people among whom are R D young and george ogden of this city and john A parker of joseph there are many opportunities for investment in washington county and the young man who is not afraid of work can easily find something that will accrue to his advantage the remoteness of the region from railroad facilities is a handicap but one of these days washington county will be in touch with the great outside through the invasion of the territory by the iron horse the richfield travelers were in interested te in everything they saw and they consider that they spent the time entertainingly and with keen satisfaction in touring a section of utah which is very old but to them entirely new the richfield delegation collectively and individually have nothing but words of praise to bestow upon the people of washington county they affirm that they never mingled with a more jovial warmhearted courteous and hospitable class of citizens than they every day encountered in their trips between the settlements fruit of the choicest varieties was served to them they happened to be the choicest pears and melons were placed at their disposal and they were as free as the air bouquets of beautiful roses were tossed into the autos by dwellers in the various towns and the dixie rose comes near being perfection with the added qualification of fragrance mayor jensen who led the richfield delegation into canaan enjoyed every moment spent on the journey dan is a naturalist an entomologist and a lover of flowers and sweet smelling herbs he em harassed bar assed his companions almost continuously by checking the speed of his car and alighting to secure some rare specimen of poison ivy or wild dahlia to add to his collection he brought back with him specimens of indigenous cacti osage oranges all kinds of creeping and stinging things and takes pleasure in showing them to visitors who happen into the state bank of sevier |