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Show 10 Varal Express waieffly, Augug 17, 1994 Tex o River historian) fteDDs nti a Ml in 'CaM off the Colorado1 The name Roy Webb is a legend to people on the river. Webb is an author and river historian who, because be-cause of his books, has given people peo-ple something to talk about at camp. Webb was in Vernal this week to introduce his newest venture, "Call of the Colorado." He was available to speak to interested people and sign the new book. "Call of the Colorado" is a detailed de-tailed history of people who came to the Green and Colorado rivers for personal reasons, whether they were scientists, photographers or explorers explor-ers looking to conquer this part of the frontier. The book is divided to include people in each of the categories cate-gories who have made a niche in the rivers' history. But the book didn't happen overnight. No, it was years in the making. Webb parallels the book to his first experience in Warm Springs rapid on the Yampa. "The first time I ran Warm Springs Rapid on the Yampa River, in May 1980, I was cocky. I'd just come off a good trip on the Green River and had run every ev-ery rapid successfully and thought I had this boating business down cold. In Warm Springs the biggest rapid on the river after a cursory look, I got into my boat, missed my cut, barely got the boat turned in time to avoid flipping and was thrown from the boat into the big hole at the bottom. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life, being be-ing sucked under water, bounced off rocks and shot to the surface, only to repeat the process several more times before I was washed up on a flat rock, sputtering, coughing, laughing hysterically. I was a changed man, and it was several years before I could row a boat again. Although I've run Warm Springs many times since, I've never nev-er approached it with the same confidence con-fidence I fell at the top that first time. This book, loo, has iu own history. histo-ry. When it was first written, during 1985 and 1986, 1 was riding the success (or so I thought) of my first Loffe-Doinig ffamnroeir earns top acgirDcyDtae finomioirs Archie "Dec and Clara Jenkins have lived and woticd at their home ft over one Half a century; and the hemic ilf i over 100 )xm old. It U there that the id of ihem began their Itfc together and built a uc ecUul ranching tamneM. Thi ha Ivcfl a lori percent team effort," m4 the mm m la 1 n fUhen during an aard prevent lion hit xti at the t'mtah County Tf, I Vie nj Clara have brrn fumed ri Tfiarfv1 Tame of the Year" by the t'muh County $od (Y"rfY"Q thmiiX aJ pre nmted a plague (ft their cnnum bontfTorti UVn -i(4 atrt hi ration to the a al tv 4, "thi U an hnn ftf a4 piiVje t4 fweivc ih$ s 4 t ftijtd hfpsg farmer." tV Kn r! a ftn in fcTtt in ttbhy, ? ! in h fMf fvfd 14 V1 Hrt he ft4r frwm tVh IM tV 14 11 4 A P&HtK t'4 fpno (p4 fVHi hi IPafr4 14 - vrf-4 r! Kf-;uN r! be 111 V'r-.aJl Mst4a. f-?4. t hem f.t Uintah Centennial committee prepares for upcoming celebration . l?3 i cv t f w- f n tN9 ff frj r-r. book "If We had A Boat"; even if it didn't sell a million copies, it was a book with my name on the cover, it was there in my hand. This current cur-rent "Call of the Colorado" work was written while I was riding that crest, and I thought that I was going to go from one book to the next just like that. Alas, once again I missed the cut and was thrown from the boat. For one reason and another, the book was never published in that form, and it took me several years to get my confidence in myself my-self as a writer and as a historian back. And I'll never again write anything from a newsletter article to a book manuscript without mentally preparing myself for that rejection slip that all authors know so well." Webb's book was rejected by the first publisher he took it to. This publisher was only interested in rewriting it to fit their needs. But Webb saw the book as being something else. He says he wanted to tell the characters' stories as he researched them. And research he did. It all began when Webb was a seasonal sea-sonal maintenance employee for the Dinosaur National Monument He was born in Farmington, N.M. near the banks of the San Juan River. "I spent a lot of time near the river," he said. Summers were spent in the Uintah Basin at his sister's home and he says he used to like to float in inner-tubes on local irrigation canals. When he was working at the Monument between college years he was asked to accompany river rangers on patrols to performed general maintenance work. He continually con-tinually asked himself what it was that brought people to the canyons? What did they hope to find? Il was those burning questions thai made him want to find out more. So he began researching and reading journals located in a resource re-source library at the Monument He even volunteered to conduct interpretative inter-pretative discussions on river lore with visitors. Instead of answering his questions, the research caused Humphrey' Phosphate Company surveying and waking phosphate claim, digging lea hales and panning pan-ning gold near Horwhoc fiend along the Green Rive. Doc aUayt enjoyed helping hi father with liwt viae k on ihcir farm a well at the farm wwk, w it tKvnvd natural thai he would begin farming and ranching himself. Thi wai during the deprttuctfi year! hon employment wa hard to find. lnc and Clara (Murray) were mamed to 1931 dapite tpmitkin facing them. There a the evtfl yraf dmufN, the Oft Drpfwkm aJ the banning ttf WU War tt aA hth wm4 w t V up again thewt thry pk (he lfe W farm iff, r Jwng and famng hvcilk tVng If4rtt t4 hM and 1 Aiig pW, tr flnv4 his fir iV Mi the rtiMg p mi Me and CUra t ith pvtty dffi. lhiFf h tfry f )4 and and h bw Hard m4 pnr &tri t-Vy t4 3k0fMfH) He tif be Irt tcw tmt&j vi fe KM hi M 14 Wf N frs trK Iff. t H 2 t h tMf?ed M vf ft JVy CM rl h lrri p-E p-E r tHu(k ft")' ttp 1 f pip iwyH m r, ! be HI w a pvi er p la. 1, f5 W lAw yn ft T t fi t--i f t ft-t, Qrvtsgr -k. rt-icN t-t rl it. fi? rHL .! rl m s ta t him to have more questions. "I felt a kinship with Escalante as I read his journals," Webb said. "Because I knew the area, I could picture in my mind what he wrote about." While attending the University of Utah as a history student, he chose to do a paper for a senior seminar on the 1938 French kayak team who paddled from Green River, Wyo. to Jensen, some 300 miles, on their way through the Grand Canyon. But because of cold weather their trip was scraped at Lee's Ferry and they headed back to France. Before returning, re-turning, however, they spent some time in Vernal staying with local riverman Bus Hatch and his family. It is believed, according to Webb, that Genevieve DeColmont the only on-ly female member of the French trio, was the first woman to pilot her boat down the river (and the last for several years following). The team's story prompted Webb to begin extensive research on their trip and so was born the "Call of the Colorado." He found through his studies there were so many others who came before the French team and after that their stories also needed need-ed to be told. An important aspect of "Call of the Colorado" is Webb's use of old photographs throughout the book. He spent months contacting family members, looking through files and researching identities of each picture. pic-ture. He figures that the first photographs pho-tographs were taken with wet-plate cameras during the 1870s. The book includes photographs and stories through 1961. Webb's research includes the Utah Historical Society; the LDS Church's Historical Department; photo collections from the Bureau of Reclamation; William Jollcy and Doris Burton and the "fine Regional Room" at the Uintah County Library; and the Huntington Library in San Marino, Calif, which houses the papers of Otis "Dock" Marston. Mansion's history was furthered researched re-searched with the assistance of William Frank, curator of Western water development During 1930, he worked with his team in helping 10 build the Long Park, A&hlcy Tin and Oaks Pk reservoir. A highlight of hi association with water devckipmeni was the completion comple-tion of the Stcinaler Dam project lie wax ifutrvmcnul, along with flev Undtcy of the Uintah County F, ien ion Savke; Parley Ncclcy of the Bureau of Reclamation; Lynn Rkhmt, Robert Cook and David Raunuwn in organizing the ofTkc called the Aihley Water Uet, Dee hat given nearly one half century in wrrtice to that organization in elect ed pmitioni in arioui water Corn-panie. Corn-panie. tfl t??l the Jenain' farm wa the lite for mme experimental torn tfttp truing tonrdinaird through tHh State University, One variety pnird JO"? Irm Mfcwing te fm4. There were a)) wvtraJ atfaH U rd pM Word i4 wed Cob tottrd 1mm tutrie H tr the U. 5y brn and heiA pftH t-M pi wtrt at tamed out tlf! Hi pmiiirtn -Hh the AMcy Dw Ha wrvrd i wm m fre turn i twf m the f e4ftd L M Mr fr Wy n u Vn rw i f be trf Mrwart 4. m He tnf,a 9 rTr r0- ir3frri e jfrife tf,wf fwtt, a b tV. m lr Cnerf t brAi . V, KEN SANDERS, (left) owner of Press, glances through newest Manuscripts. In addition, Webb's research took him to the Cline Library Special Collections at Northern Arizona University; the Arizona Historical Foundation in Tempe, Ariz.; the Grand Canyon National Park research library; and finally to the U.S. Geological Survey photo library in Denver, Colo. Webb states, "Besides the institutional institu-tional sources, this book wouldn't be as good as it is without the many people I've come to know on the river over the past decade. It's hard to remember everyone I've talked to over the past ten years. How do you credit the many riverside conversations, conversa-tions, the shared pitchers of beer at Ray's Tavern an establishment located lo-cated in Green River, Utah often .. Itanli frpwenting Uintah and tar8 cwmtir. t and Oara ha rd lout fckHrm n4 t laine CarkM, a;l lfhft Vomal, m4 Carl at Lf y rl. ha f de pal art bf Wif.spd bm JfM be rfd yn the war fwiBMt. The "T m tfie h mnamti n fre e fft fre i, Ury 1. r the uv p m he Pme ae m r?e ere Hs a teecitrr! TV VtrjM trwtvy h pafq tw N7 a i.rje tirwfia- T11 ! car? i3 ci flt eam, lvrf. K-!, pit--?. pvWirsit w it ti pris- t? frm r 1 .if-K Dream Gardens Colorado, written by Roy Webb. Roy Webb is a book, Call of the well known author and river historian in this area. frequented by river runners, or the exquisite nights spent sitting on the boat after the passengers have been put to bed, listening to boatman stories sto-ries as the stars wheel overhead and the river softly rocks the boat?" "Call of the Colorado" is Webb's third book. In addition to "If We Had a Boat", Webb wrote the book "Riverman," the story of Bus Hatch. Webb is close to the Hatchs. He said "Riverman" was bom as a result re-sult of a request by the late Don Hatch, Bus son. "Riverman", Webb said, was one of the easier books to write because of the amount of research re-search and personal interviews already al-ready done before him. "My problem prob-lem was knowing where to stop," Webb stated. inrmational pmhici mature fif ttaftrrlhrjrM Cimpany in fL 1V? lJ tJMrcil ith te thiid ri the af. TVir tvte tv N fre fete te t- be jwV',4 fft tncjrf (irtMnisflj ff trtmiiftsBi ft be r4 iNifrn be mi4 J tbe tfl cflfNrni Cl he lictfil pff . 15 Cfal tVEl tlsMiit i4 1 be fn the H I pwwHi.v H? f"f e pif trwy'i Va-t ciw p?rf W nir Fn W p l?3 l be brf"r5 ir;-- i ' 'JfV; " ''V -1 ' '"r- Because of his close association with the Hatchs, Webb was the speaker at Don's funeral this past winter. Whether it be "If I Had a Boat", "Riverman" or "Call of the Colorado", Webb's books are full of information about the river and its characters. They arc written to entertain en-tertain the reader yet give accurate, researched historical data. Webb and his wife, Bccci, have two young daughters and the family resides in Salt Lake City. He is a veteran of the Grand Canyon and has logged thousands of river miles asaboatsman. Webb's books can be found at Bitter Creek bookstore. , family n meMmtt y mrifd tSrir d (amg t wr iit tfttow t tSMr 1m l-H ywn r tin IfW Jar p4 ft C'rwi.wi Ar 5i jf ft bVt fre tt. cnwiminfg Hal tV. wmtm I |