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Show 4 Yemal ExreS8 Fridoy, August 8, 1986 ssjiiir$$sD0iiis. Music, sunsets and friends go with piper on 6,000 mi. trek 1, f I ' : , . v ' - if jv .: - 7" . - : . - -fi , . . , I ; ; . - -.' , ' " - . - . I ; ; , - . , - ? - ' . f - 4 ' . ' " " , , I , ' c - ' 5' , 1 -V- ' ! i " 1 I DRESSED IN HIS Scottish attire, Daniel Smith is making friends and raising funds for the Hopping good time at library contest Nothing is more fun than a good old fashioned frog jumping contest between bet-ween some modern American kids, as was proven at the Uintah County Library's second annual contest early ear-ly this week. As part of their summer program, the library personnel keep young people occupied with summer reading and other activities which includes in-cludes the frog jumping competition. The event was set to begin on Monday Mon-day with another heat to follow on Tuesday and the finals on Wednesday. As it happened the word spread among the frog population and they all ducked duck-ed out of sight. Only one showed up at the Library in the firm grip of a competitor com-petitor on Monday and on Tuesday the hoppers were still scarce. Finally on Wednesday, enough the slipivry little critters were rounded up to get a contest going. One cousin to the frogs, a common garden toad, showed up in his warty garb and cap-turrd cap-turrd third place in the event, lie w as captured and trained by Kelly Clous who had dubbed him, "Squirmy ," The other winners were a frog named "Itermie" who In-longed to Hyan CHivmon and second place went to "Hnppy" who was prodded along by Etste Urrwcr. Cameron and Gregory Hatch suf fcred the agony of difeat when they were disqualified (or "over fctimula-linn" fctimula-linn" of their sleek entrant, ".Spot" "Jut Frog" and "Kirk" didn't fare too well in the contest, either. There were some exciting moments outside the enmprtifion this )ear hrn one of the frogs hnpptnl from Ihe library and escaped into Dinosaur Gardens. He was later retrieved by a pe of fmg hunters Another fmg who a a potential Champion was literally "croaked" whrn lh? tats managed to grt the screen off the frng hakel and ate hint Frogs were caught in the mountains moun-tains near Crouse Reservoir, on the Green River, in a pond by the cemetery and the toad came from a backyard lawn. The Olympic hoppers will be returned to various places like grandma's garden, and maybe in Dinosaur Gardens which was a very handy place to let them go. "Can't 0 4 J THOSE WHO APE heppmg happy after the frcg jurtiping tonipcMion ate p.irftcip.injs Gtcgoty American Cancer Society as he crosses the U.S. you just see a frog popping his head out of the water and scaring the tourists?" giggled librarian Pam Hatch who was in charge of the library's summer program. The contest winners received a library button and each of the entrants en-trants got a can of pop and a sucker. f . . r m i I Match. Jcjme Cameron Match, 111 " 'jLrjr i' m a wt .v-V' X K la t, V. ' ( ; V Vs 1 ' By Merle Young Express Feoture Editor A young man dressed in kilts, toting a backpack and playing a bag pipe as he strolls across America is guaranteed to attract attention. When the attention to this costume and the lively piped music is used for a worthy purpose, the outcome can be nothing less than a success. Handsome, blue eyed Daniel Smith, 24 of Wauwatosa, Wis., left Quoddy Head State Park in Main, (the eastern most point in the United States), in the midst of a snowstorm on April 1, 1985 to begin a more than 6,000 mile trek across the country. His goal has a double purpose. He seeks to inspire people to reflect upon their blessings and to motivate them to become involved in helping others any way they can. He also accepts donations for the American Cancer Society along his way. "I am fortunate to be blessed with good health and because of this, I am able to make this trip," said Smith. His appetite for adventure and his giving nature have taken him through bad weather, over mountain summits and into the hearts of many whom he has met along the way. "I have not had a bad experience on this trip. On the contrary, everyone has been very good to me. " The ambitious walker made his decision to take off while living in Milwaukee attending college. "I decided there was a whole world of people and things out there I wanted to see," Smith explained. "I always took a dare and was sort of the black sheep of my family. When I left Craig, Colo., five days ago, I saw dust moving across the horizon. It turned out to be hundreds of sheep. There were more than a thousand white, common sheep and only one black one. There was one black faced sheep too, and these two were the odd balls. I watched them walk along and wondered what they were thinking." Smith has no sponsors for his nilarimncrA nnrl rfpnpnHc nn tha f. r"a t goodness of people to help him along. ' He had a tough time keeping in water between Maybelle and Dinosaur, Colo. He said a lady who managed a campground had filled up his water and later sent some campers to find Participants included: Gregory Hatch, Joanie Hatch, Jackie Brewer, Elsie Brewer, Kelly Clous, Ryan Oliverson, Jamee Atwood, Kari Hatch, Cameron Hatch and a couple of others who slipped away into obscurity along with the hopping heroes of the day. VJ s) Match, Jace Drcwcr, thm Oliver&ort, Kari Match and s ' , i - '9- we ' him along the road to fill up his water jug again. He has worn out five pairs of shoes along the way and was ready for another pair on Wednesday when he arrived in Vernal. The walker sets his pace at about 20 miles a day and when he stops to rest or leaves the road, he marks his spot and starts walking again exactly where he left off. People ask him everywhere he goes why he chose to dress in the Scot costume. "There are a number of reasons why I chose to dress this way. :The kilts represent part of myself. I was a drummer in a pipe band and was studying the pipes. I thought I would have plenty of time to practice as I walked across the miles. I saw a picture of some pipers leading the Doughboys into battle and they had little backpacks on. I tried piping with my pack on and the pipes cleared the pack so I knew it would work." His family has some linage to Scotland. One of his ancestors named Robb was reportedly reported-ly a piper to the queen. The main reason for the costume remains, however, to call attention to his cause. The piper especially enjoys the company of young people and has many amusing stories about children he has met along the way. "Two 12-year-old boys met me coming through Craig. They had butch haircuts hair-cuts and their ears were scabbed from sunburn. One of the boys was thin and the other was a chunky little guy; Chris and Ricky. They had on multi-colored "Bermudas" and felt pretty good about themselves. They said, "We like your music," and ? A I " " . ... .'"... I i fj - - - I j - ' ' zLK t " . Lm 'r - RYAN OLIVERSON AND Elsie frog jumping contest winner. 9C Vwwj Diane Lcavittc & Wayne Bowden Rctcpiion: Saturday, August 9, 1986 Holly Hunsakcr & Steven Hill Reception: Thursday, August 14, 1906 Hogcr Walker & Pamela Wright Opcnhouse: Friday, August 15, 1906 Greg Limb & Heather Kirschman Retrptkm: Saturday, August 16, 19(16 Select a gift for them from the Homo Furnishing Department. Free Gift Wrap Service Available JC Penney; Vernal 789 3242 ' followed me to the city limits. They also attended a radio interview with me and we went to the library together. They had the clerks and people in a store laughing when they announced loudly that I was there shopping for underwear. 'Finally we shared lunch and they invited me back. "You know, you can tell happy children from the ones who are scared. I see some that are afraid to talk to me and run in the house and get their parents. They peek out at me from behind the curtains." These kinds of experiences are kept in a daily diary. He said two Utah Highway Patrol troopers had stopped to talk with him near Jensen and that they had been very friendly and helpful. Rarely does he get more than five miles before someone stops to talk with him. They sit by the roadside and share a drink and swap a few stories. "It is a shame most people hurry through life and never stop to get to know one another," he said. Smith commented on the beauty of the nation and especially of the varied sites in the Uintah Basin. He spent the night with a local family and played his pipes for those in the neighborhood. He was treated to . lunch the next day by another family who also filled his water jugs for his trip toward Roosevelt. Doing his laundry kept him- in town until early afternoon on Thursday when he began walking west again on Highway 40. Continued on page 5 Brewer agree it is great to be a |