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Show Balzer delivers gift to the top By GAIL NEWBOLD When German-born Bert Balzer - first scaled Bountiful Peak in mid-December mid-December to erect an American flag, he didn't dream his Bountiful Centennial birthday gift would mushroom into the monumental project it has. The idea came to him during a hospital stay at Lakeview. "I'd been saying a lot of prayers and felt like I wanted to do something special when I got out." That something turned out to be a 12-hour hike in the dead of winter, clad in snowshoes with a 60-lb. pack strapped to his back. A mountain moun-tain climber since his childhood in Germany, Bert had climbed the peak in the summer, but never in the winter and never on snowshoes. "With that flagpole on my back and snowshoes I really had to work hard to keep my balance," remembers Bert. "I prayed the whole time, 'God please give me the strength to do this. Without his heln I neve.r In spite of the time, effort and money involved, he's not complaining. complain-ing. He says the project has been very rewarding. His story has already been told once in the newspaper. The pilots at American Airlines (where he is employed) tell him they can see the flag as they fly over and have complimented him, and he gets a kick out of showing off his photos. An avid fan of Bountiful and the United States, Blazer celebrates his 30th year of living in this country on June 2. He came to Bountiful 13 years ago. "I always like Bountiful because the climate is slow, I love being close to the mountains, it's not too big, it's safe, the people are friendly, friend-ly, and it's clean," says Balzer. "I love it" About America he says, "I don't think there's any place better. I do my best Whatever I can do, I'll do for America. " 5 ; f L J I 1 i 4 ' w r ' " r 4 - would have been able to do it." When high winds snapped the pole in half, Balzer made the hike again in January, this time returning with a larger flag (5x8 feet) and stronger pole. The new 1 1-, pole remains standing, but Balzer had discovered he must periodically replace the flag which gets ripped to shreds by the high winds. Keeping the flag intact has become almost an obsession. He drives to Lagoon from his home in Bountiful nearly every day to check on the flag through binoculars, then hikes to check on it in person almost every Sunday. He's spent between $500 and $600 on flags, poles and a sign affixed to the base of the pole reading, "Bountiful Centennial 1992. God Bless .America and Peace on Earth, From Bert Balzer." His next plan is to sail a Bountiful Centennial flag under the American Flag. "I made a commitment to the centennial and I'm going to do this," he said. "I want everything in 100 percent order. I don't want it half-done." He plans to keep the flag flying at least until Pioneer Day. German-born Bert Balzer has braved the elements land climbed to the top of Bountiful Peak a number of times to make sure his gift to Bountiful is just right. Balzer has erected a flag and a tribute to honor the city. |