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Show Park Record Thursday, July 7, 1988 Page A7 Skiing isn't work for this longtime "Samaritan of snow" By RON OEORG Record staff writer "When are you and Lawrence going go-ing to grow up?" the Davenport family doctor asked of Barbara Davenport. That was after Lawrence, then 61 years old, broke his back skiing. , If growing up means giving up their love of adventure, the Davenports Daven-ports will never mature. The Davenports have only lived in Park City for a few years, but they've owned property up here since the ski area opened 25 years ago. Every Saturday since then, Lawrence has been on the mountain moun-tain as a part-time ski patrol member. That, however, isn't even half of his story. Before coming here for Park City Ski Area's opening in 1963, Davenport had spent the previous quarter of a century patrolling on weekends at Alta. Davenport, now 73, began his skiing ski-ing career at 11 years of age when he got his first pair of skis. "My father was in mining, and we spent three years in Gnome, Alaska. While we were there he bought me my first pair of skis they were made of pine." Of course, by the time he joined the National Ski Patrol, in 1938, he had acquired some more technical equipment. "When I came back to Salt Lake in 1929, 1 got a set of hickory skis. Hickory was the best; hardwood like that could hold camber for a while." Of course, the limitations to skiing ski-ing weren't just due to equipment. When Davenport started skiing at Alta, it was basically a ghost town. Ski lifts hadn't been envisioned. "Skiing hadn't taken hold of the general public. There was a road up Little Cottonwood Canyon, but it wasn't paved. They did plow it, but nothing like today. There wasn't much in Alta there was the old post office, and Mayor Watson was still there. It was basically through him that Alta was developed. He deeded his surface rights to the Forest Service and the Denver-Rio Grande railroad put up some money to build the Alta Lodge." Just as Alta was developing, the National Ski Patrol was organized. In March of 1938, the ski patrol was IPairik (Unity IProffM formed, and Alta opened the next winter with Davenport patrolling the slopes. "The lift only went up ' as high as Watson's Shelter, It was all wood, and it was a single chair. The chair was pulled up by a pulling pull-ing cable. The first year, they didn't have enough elevation on the chair, and they had to dig tunnels through the snow." ; Skiing would continue to grow steadily from then, though it slowed slow-ed a little during World War II. Davenport remembers some of the soldiers who came up during the war. "Quite a number of them came up just to try and break a bone so they wouldn't have to go overseas. We'd pick them up in the toboggan and they'd go down the hill with huge grins on their faces." hit in the top of a big pine tree, and it set them down in the snow. They had crashed right near where they , had dropped the banner." Of course, ski patrol members get themselves into trouble occasionally, occa-sionally, too. Davenport , remembers one time when the patrol had to come looking for him. "The first day Park City opened, they didn't have the telephone system hooked up. My son Scott and I skied up to Prospector lift at the end of the day, and there was no lift operator there, but the lift was still going. We got on, along with two other patrolmen, to go up. About halfway up, they shut the lift down. The four of us started yelling and letting out a few coyote yelps, but they couldn't hear us. Even- "In 1929, I got a set of hickory skis. Hickory was the best; hardwood like that could hold camber for a while." Unbelievably, Davenport, who still has the physique of a 45-year-old, was declared 4-F by the Army because of a past illness. As a member of the Wasatch Mountain Club, however, Davenport was prepared to serve with the Civilian Ski and Mountain Corps. To prepare for such civil defense, Davenport participated in some military exercises. "The exercise was to find a downed plane," said Davenport of one particular incident. "A light plane flew up and dropped a banner ban-ner in Albion Basin. Then the plane circled over us to tell us they had spotted a downed plane. After it circled over us, it went back up , toward Albion, then it disappeared. We went right up after it, and it had crashed up there. Luckily, they tually they came looking for us in a snow-cat we were getting pretty cold by then." The other time he had to be rescued was more serious. Twelve years ago, skiing on Keystone, Davenport hit a wind-packed snow drift which tossed him over onto his head and back, fracturing a vertebrae. He had to be taken to Salt Lake by helicopter. By the end of the season, however, he was back on skis. That was what caused his doctor to ask if he would ever grow up. Well, he may not have grown up, but he also hasn't grown old. Davenport is one of only seven members of the National Ski Patrol who started at the beginning and stuck with it for five decades. For that accomplishment, the SINCE 1973 PARKCITUTAW THURSDAY Pat Carnahan Mellow Jazz Live at Miletis FRIDAY Complimentary Happy Hour Buffet 5:00 p.m. SUNDAY NIGHT at the MOVIES Clint Eastwood Double Feature A Fist Full of Dollars & Outlaw Josey Wales complimentary popcorn 6:00 p.m. MONDAY NIGHT BASEBALL 75 drafts and complimentary snacks TUESDAY LADIES NIGHT wPat Carnahan Ilium; ll I yiitillJiiimWWW"l PHIiiUJ.y.LW ' i-ll'l UUimpi s m4. ! s - f ' " mat I . A ' J ml '6 4 ' "Ail, , ii i M"" ' M V 'fM i - - - J --1 Barbara and Lawrence Davenport National Ski Patrol recently honored him at a banquet in Boston celebrating the organization's golden anniversary. At the banquet, ban-quet, Davenport got to meet the other six fifty-year members. In fact, the National Ski Patrol wasn't the only big name to honor him. The members received letters from former presidents Carter and Ford, as well as a note from Ronald Reagan, praising the "Samaritans of snow." Today, having retired from his job with First Security Bank, Davenport plans to continue patrolling, so long as he can find the time. "Since we've retired we haven't had time to do all the things we want to," said Barbara Davenport. The Davenports own a home in St. George as well as Park City, and they spend time down there riding touring bikes, playing tennis, "About halfway up, they shut the lift down. The four of us started yelling and letting out a few coyote yelps, but they couldn't hear us." racquetball.and golf, and Lawrence still rides around on a dirt bike. "He takes a lunch and leaves early to go riding," said Barbara of Lawrence's Southern Utah motorcycling. motor-cycling. "Then he calls about 6 p.m. to say, 'I'm in Mesquite,' or someplace." It is not only amazing that someone so-meone Davenport's age is still so active, but, considering the sports he enjoys, it's suprising he hasn't injured himself seriously. "I'm not one to take a lot of chances where I'm going to get hurt. I'm just out to enjoy myself." It seems that Davenport is doing just that. When asked how he has found the endurance to patrol for fifty years, he replies, tongue firmly firm-ly in cheek, "Oh, it's been real hard work getting up to go skiing every Saturday." A MEMBER OF THE SEARS FINANCIAL NETWORK mm u iiina k Raise your expectations. py' I've I. W . - ML ... 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