OCR Text |
Show (The Page A8 iimg-3nftfpfn5- Thursday, July 4, 2002 mt OUR TOWN A LOOK FORWARD 1M TIME' Many Trails by Adrien F. Taylor flies when you're having fun, they say And guess it s true It was 25 years ago. when Moab was celebrating the 75th anniversary of its incorporation that we reproduced the old front page to commemorate the event I talked to some of the T me 1 m the schools about it, hence the photo. We thought about reproducing the front page from July 4, 1902, but the pages are really too fragile, so, in the spirit of the holiday, Im going to recap some of its contents here, as follows The lead story was about the schedule of events for the day, which began with a salute at sunrise with Flag Raising and band playing simultaneously At 9 30 there followed a patriotic exercise at the Opera House, m ludmg 15 separate musical numbers, reading speeches, reci tations, and Toast Remarks, Ftc Speech mat se days and dl we know mg tended long in it if needed for sure abouf tins assembly was m when 2 to be finished by p juvenile races were to begin (Juvenile races at 2 p m on July 4 in Moab can be warm These kids had stamina1) Candy was distributed at 3 p m There was a "Double Handed Drilling Match at 4 pm , 3 teams to enter 2 to drill Purse $50 (Maybe somebody can explain what that was exactly Not a dunk tank, for sure ) Then there was a Saddle Horse Race at 5 p m 3 horses to enter 2 to start Purse $50 for first place, entrance fees for second prize Entry fee $2 50 In the year 1902, July 4 fell on a Friday, which probably explains why the celebration went on into Saturday, July 5, with competitions beginning at 9 a m., and running into the afternoon. J. P. Miller, Marshall of the Day, and his committee members, J H Clark and Edwin Schimpf, had certainly planned a lot of activities for the town. Other items of interest on that front page: Harvest apples are now ripe The Grand Valley peach season has now begun Mrs. John Skewes returned from the mountains last Sunday. Lester Taylor and Ernest Jones returned form a trip to classes Adrien, 25 years ago. the Big Indian mining p jperty and report everything looking splendid in that section. Richard Wmburn left on Wednesday morning for the foot of the La Sals to meet the remainder of the Gold Basin people with a wagon and brought them to town in the evening of the same day. They were Mr. and Mrs. Hyrum Turner and daughter and E. Turner. Mr. Clark and Mr. Griben remaining in camp until the following day. Advertising was carried on the front page back then. Hammond & Sons Company Pioneer Mercantile House was offering fireworks. Other advertisers included the Burlington Route, the Moab Liquor Co., New Idea Women's Magazine, Cooper, Martin & Co., Antles & Miller (of Castleton), The Moab Saloon, Geo. S. Matteson, General Merchandise (also Castleton), Little Gem Saloon and Club House, and Taylor Mercantile. Sounds like the folks had a lot of fun on the 4th in 1902. Sounds like were going to have fun again in 2002. Bouquets to the committee that has revived the celebration. Community Comments mer. Moab's July 4th fireworks display at 9:40 p.m. Thursday will proceed, but under close scrutiny. If weather conditions (wind, etc.) are not right, there is a possibility that the event might be canceled at the last minute Lets hope that conditions are calm. The display would be a fitting ending for what is shaping up to be one of Moab's biggest July 4th celebration in many years. With hot weather and reduced visibility due to smoke from fires in Arizona and Colorado, it is a little ironic that Moab is hosting a number of visitors this week who are escaping heavy smoke on the Wasatch Front and in Colorado. If Moab's air is a relief to those visitors, things must be unbearable in their home communities. The Wests two largest fires, one south of Denver and the other around Show Low Ariz., were apparently started deliberately by people charged with defending forests against fires. It is unthinkable to me that people would start fires to gain employment. It is reported that the Arizona fire was ignited by a firefighter to prolong his $8 an hour job on the fire line. We must remind ourselves that a major grass fire in Spanish Valley a few years ago was deliberately started by a fire warden, who eventually faced charges in court. The RattleDiamond Fire in the Book Cliffs is really a tough call. Not only is the country there some of the roughest in the nation, accessibility is limited. Added to that, much of the land being burned is Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Study Areas, a State of Utah Roadless Area and the Uintah-Oura- y Indian Reservation. That makes the use of heavy equipment to build fire lines impossible What do we do with areas that (Eljc ttttcs can't, by law, be accessed by motorized equipment? Maybe we should build fire lines just outside their boundaries to protect other lands and property, and just let them burn. The Book Cliffs fire is being fought by over 400 firefighters, five helicopters and six water tenders. Also three bulldozers are being used outside the Wilderness Study Area. The eventual costs of that activity will be Referring to the huge fire in Arizona around g town of Show the former logging, Low, Monticello publisher Bill Boyle wondered last week in his signed column, how many board feet of lumber and spotted owls had been consumed by the blaze along with numerous homes and our forother structures. We may have to estry policies. It is pretty obvious that the rapid spread of flames all around the West have been caused by a build-u- p of tinder on the ground, which could have been cleaned up as a pari of limited logging activity. Some times our best intentions with respect to protecting the environment can come around and bite us. It is still tinder dry. Moisture content in trees even though they may look green and pretty is at one of the lowest ever recorded. They become almost explosive when exposed to flame. We are not immune in Moab and Spanish Valley. One of the benefits, if you can call it that, of the prolonged drought we have been suffering, is that there is little to no dry ground cover. Dry cheat grass will burn like kerosene. This year, less of that pesky ground cover came up. At any rate, be careful out there. For the first time in the 23 years we have lived on the minifarm, there wont even be a sparkler, let alone a fountain, torched on the Taylor place by the grandkids and their helpful parents. Moab City has passed a resolution banning fire within 300 feet of Pack Creek and Mill Creek. Our property falls within that zone. Living near the creek is nice. It is also cause for concern when it comes to fire. water-droppin- g mind-bogglin- g. paper-makin- re-thi- -- (31 xibrpntbcnt ISSN ) (UPS) Entered as Second class Matter at the Post Office at Moab, Utah under the Act of March 3, 1897. Second class postage paid at Moab, Utah 84532. Official City and County Newspaper. Published each Thursday at: 35 East Center Street, Moab, Grand County, Utah 84532 6309-2000- of 1538-183- 8 address: editormoabtimes.com ail Postmaster: Send changes address 435-259-75- to: The Times or FAX Member -- Independent, P.O. Box 129, Moab, UT 84532 435-259-77- NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION and UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION Samuel J. and Adrien F. Taylor, Publishers Sena T. Flanders, Editor Tom Taylor Circulation Manager, T- Maps Zane Taylor Press, Production Manager Ron Flanders Systems Manager Lisa Church, Janet Lowe Staff Writers Jeff Richards Contributing Writer Office ManagerSalesDesign Sadie Warner -l Mail Room Supervisor Dorothy Anderson Valerie Brown, Jed Taylor, Jose Santana. ..Backshop Ron Drake Castle Valley columnist Ron George Columnist Oliver Harris Columnist Jose Churampi by Ollie Harris J From sackcloth to gold dust There is a new spirit of asceticism here in southeastern Utah. It is a form of abnegation somewhat akin to the biblical concept of sackcloth and ashes. You remember the old sackcloth and ashes. It was where persons who were in mourning or were seeking some high spiritual objective wrapped themselves in sackcloth (sometimes called haircloth), which has to be the roughest, scratchiest, most uncomfortable cloth, then sat in ashes, pouring ashes upon their heads and all over their bodies. Other cultures still embrace similar practices such as whipping bare flesh until it bleeds to prove their piety. So, what are the modern counterparts of such behavior here in this drought-strickecomer of the world? What are todays symbols of and sacrifice? They consist of having a filthy truck and a dead lawn. The dirtier the truck and the deader the grass, the purer the man. Right? It must be true. I havent washed my truck in months because it seems such a waste of water. The big Dodge is coated with alternating layers of tree sap, splattered bugs, road grime, bird poop and airborne dust. It is wonderfully disgusting. And my front lawn? It is hopelessly dead and brown except for those little rims of green about Ihe bases of the trees we are trying to keep alive. The grass is as dry and lifeless as an Anasazi com cob. Maybe 111 pull the truck onto the dead grass and take a picture. Who knows? It might rain and I may r never have such an opportunity again. One remarked that he was sure that it would rain just as soon as this dry spell was over. Another said, Well, each day is one day closer to the day it rains. There is a bright side to this drought, though. You might call it a golden lining. I have been promising myself that someday, when the streams were nearly dry, I would go panning for gold. I spent a few most pleasant hours panning on Blue Mountain. n by Sam Taylor Some thoughts about fire: Following a fire Monday afternoon in the Powerhouse Lane vicinity, apparently started by fireworks, Moab Fire Chief Corky Brewer was wise to ban the use of fireworks inside the city limits indefinitely Even seemingly safe sparklers can cause fires when conditions are as dry as they are this sum- Idle Thoughts from Mt. Waas Distribution old-time- The stream was small but very cold and clear. I looked the area over and tried to imagine where the stream might have deposited its precious cargo over the millennia. I dug down through a gravel bar and put a couple of shovels full of sand and gravel in my log, gold pan. I sat on a convenient lieaver-fallewith both my boots in the shallow water, and began to shake and swirl the pan, trying to work the heavier material to the bottom. It was a beautiful morning, cool there in the shade with the burbling, gurgling sound of water underlying the sounds of singing birds. I refined my pan down to the concentrates of black sand. I slowly swirled the water over the black sand until I saw a tiny gleam of yellow. I looked at it carefully through my 10X loupe and, sure enough, it was a lumpy lilt lc chunk of glowing, yellow metal. The gold panning was great fun but not particularly productive. After working several pans of gravel, I rinsed my gold pan. dipped it into the stream and had a long, cool drink from it. Life doesnt get much better than that. I spent most of a day and a half panning in the La Plata river just below Hesperus, Colo. Eacji pan of sand and gravel that I processed contained several little colors. Most were about the size of a grain of sugar. A couple were larger and many were smaller. Some of the gold was small enough to truly qualify as dust. I spent a lot of time examining the tiny pieces of gold through my loupe. I then isolated them from the black sand and sucked them up with my snuffer bottle. I was the object of some ridicule about never getting rich panning for gold. But, they missed the point completely. The wealth lies in the solitude, the rhythmic swirling of the pan, those little moments of discovery, and the thrill of being the first human to lay eyes on a beautiful piece of gold, even if it does take a magnifying glass to examine it projierly. High Country News Writers on the Range Living from in this surreal season of fire day-to-da- y by Bill Roberts Life in Durango, in Southwest Colorado, has become surreal. Even for those of us not directly affected by it, the fire coming closer dominates our days. Handling mundane problems such as grocery shopping and gassing up the car everything takes place against a backdrop of disaster. Its a crisis situation, but we still have to take out the trash. We all know those who have been touched by the fire. One of my lost a home to the flames. Several more have been forced to leave theirs. My wife and I have other friends who, at the whim of the wind, could be in the fires path at any time. But for most of us, the fire remains secondhand. At my house, were baby-sittin- g a pet so a friend who might have to evacuate her home will have one less and her friends thing to worry about. Our have been doing extra chores to augment their allowances and add to the pot of money theyre collecting to support the firefighters. Weve offered a few friends a place to stay. And my wife has been working to help evacuees find accommodations. In other words, weve done pretty much what everyone else in town has done. Nonetheless, the truth is that so far the red eyes and scratchy throat caused by the smoke have been the fires biggest direct impact on our lives. That could change. In the meantime, though, life is a strange amalgam of the gracious and the grotesque. When I got home on Monday, June 17, our neighborhood was serene. It was cocktails-on-the-dec- k weather, warm, still and gently cooling. The distant sound of a lawnmower lent the evening a familiar, domestic air. My dinner was ready, and the kids were flopped on the couch watching The Gilmore Girls. Not that many miles away, the scene was anything but idyllic. I'd been talking to the photographers and reporters at the daily where I work and listening to the scanner in an attempt to piece together what was happening with the fire. The picture that emerged was a vision of hell walls of fire more than 100 feet high, sheets of flame separating from the fire itself and rollcyclones uprooting ing through the air, trees. Feeding on itself, the blaze had developed into a true firestorm. I That two such scenes can exist so close to each other in both time and space is difficult to grasp. It came to me then that I have no more conwe trol over whats happening than I do over the characters in the kids television show. Still, for all our concern for the fire and those affected by it, life goes on. Only now there are some odd twists. Mondays paper featured a photo of golfers playing in a tournament at Hillcrest Golf Club. Behind them was the plume of smoke rising from the Missionary Ridge Fire as it exploded that afternoon. An impossible juxtaposition, it perfectly illustrated the absurdity of our situation, only to be topped the next morning, when 2,000 bicyclists rode into town. The scene downtown on the night of June 17 added to the sense of disconnect. On one side of the street was a bunch of tourists apparently waiting for the trolley. They were on vacation, most likely had heard about this wonderful place and were looking forward to rafting, hiking and seeing beautiful Colorado. What must they have been thinking? Across the street was a tent city and clumps of young men and women, all with blackened faces and exhausted from a day combating the fire. The firefighters were also visitors, but they were seeing a vastly different landscape. Were trying to live in a resort, a community and a war zone all at once. There are good arguments for not neglecting any of the three. But the or leave if tourists can enjoy themselves guilt-fre- e they want to, while the firefighters have a clear and crucial mission. Their job must be brutal, but they know what to do and why. The rest of us can only do what we can. unsure at any moment when or what more we should, or could, be doing. Or, if the direction w ere headed is even correct. For now, my plan is to put one foot in front of the other, enjoy what good there is of this summer and pray for rain. If anyone has a better idea. I'd love to hear it. Bill Roberts is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service o- High Country News in Puomo, Colo . He is editorial page editor of The Durango Herald. (PCX |