Show THIS THAT and the OTHER I Subbing for Mack Turner this week Is Bob fob White of 4 Corners Information Service who once was a newspaperman himself not too loo long ago either DEAR MACK If you'd had time to shop around Im I'm almost certain you could have found someone more anxious than myself to fill up Column 3 Page 2 this week Statistics show there are even more would would-be columnists at large arge than th there re are for Instance would-be would uranium millionaires Im I'm not one of those would-be would columnist of course Except for forthe forthe forthe the two or three times each week when somebody says something In n print that I f think he or falls fails to say something I think he le should Then my old blood oils bolls and I start composing letters letters let let- to the editor But Dut the mood passes before they hey ever get written Writing letters etters to the editor Is work even as column Though col col- writing docs does look easy to those hose who've never tried It it Which brings up an old story The bank president was conversing conversing conversing con con- with the young reporter My boy said he Id give a months month's salary if I could have your Job for just one day Sir said the youth I know Just lust how you feel Id I'd gladly give I Ia a years year's salary if I 1 could have your job job for tor just 15 IS minutes Seriously though this gives me mea a chance to make public a request Ive I've been wanting to make for several months Of all the mining men Ive I've met and heard about in the last year or so one of the most interesting Is la Frank Silvey Frank Silvey as older residents of Moab know has been prospecting prospecting prospecting pro pro- beyond the Great Divide For something like 10 years now But he left behind enough personal personal personal per per- papers to give an intriguing picture of a forceful complex personality who probably was wa somewhat misunderstood by his contemporaries I His papers or part of them a at least east now are In tn the good hands of Mary Pogue historian for the Moab camp of the Daughters o of Utah Pioneers Among the more interesting are three of his personal personal personal per per- journals including one covering covering covering cov cov- ering the th year 1926 Lest anyone still is under the Impression that this uranium business busIness busness bus- bus Iness ness Is Ls something new Frank Silvey was prospecting tor for anc and mining uranium in the Lisbon Valley 30 years ago I r have In my desk thanks to Mrs Pogue a diary listing some of the claims he staked and worked worked worked work work- ed that summer and they show how that prospecting hasn't changed as much as one might think hink In the last three decades But even more Interesting that the he mining story revealed in his diary is the picture that emerges of the man himself Silvey was a man of many talents and a kindly Individual who gave many a neighbor i a helping hand When a neighbors neighbor's child died that summer of 1926 In the Summit Summit Summit Sum Sum- mit Point community Silvey drove to Moab In the Dodge car he had named Pat to bring back the he coffin After the funeral he wrote the obituary story for the Monticello paper He recorded his ils own grief in his diary and told old how he kept In touch with the lie family in the days after the childs child's death Frank Silvey most certainly would have liked a chance to to write this column today or any day ay He had a strong Interest in all 11 civic affairs of this community community ity ty and frequently wrote articles for or the Moab and Monticello weeklies and complained In his ils diary when the editors struck out ut some of the more controversial sial al paragraphs I could write several thousand words about Frank Silvey just justrom from rom what Ive I've learned by reading read read- Ing g his journals And some lome day I J Imay may ay But what I started to ask askas was as this Its It's very possible that some lome timers old In Grand and San Juan counties may have other diaries letters etters or other papers of Frank Ivey's Iveys If so Td Id surely welcome a chance to read them Or If If anyone anyone any- any one ne recalls any stories or anecdotes anecdotes dotes otes about him Id I'd like to hear them em Most of all Id I'd like to see a pIcture of Mr For Frank Silvey had an abiding abid- abid Ing ng faith in the future of uranium decades before most of us ever heard leard of the word And his story along ong with stories of other past and nd present uranium pioneers ought to be set down as soon oon as possible If anyone has any Silvey papera pap- pap era er rs anecdotes or pictures they'd like ke to loan Joan they can get In touch with me through the Times Times Times-Inde Inde- Inde pendent or Moab Uranium Co And thanks Mack for the use ot of t your column this week BOB Bon WHITE |