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Show The Ihi Free Press - Thursday. April 2. 1981 - Page Bygone Era jir-'-T Gesneva Resort I all-da- Dallin Sells Resort Following the golden era of ihe nineties, there was little aclivity at Geneva until 1907 when Capl. Dallin sold the resort to a group of local businessmen called ihe Utah Lake Club. They planted more irees, dug wells, made picnic areas and a baseball diamond. Weekly dances were held and regular excursions once again established. At (his time a number of cabins were built to house guests ai Ihe resorl, since fishing and boating atlracled numbers of sportsmen for weekend adiviiies. A large molor launch was in use for carrying passengers across ihe lake. During World War I, Geneva Resorl entered a second period of decline when ihe lake level dropped. Jack Westphall and Levi Carpenter owned it during I his lime. II was principally used for pleasure boating and commercial fishing. Electricity Installed In 1917, Charles C. Rasmussen look over ihe properly on a lease He insi ailed an arrangement. electric generating plant, and for the first lime electric lights were used to illuminate Ihe buildings and grounds. For a short lime there was a revival in Ihe resort's SIMse rMvSbta (Bonus Pack) Reg. Reg. 48 Case $12.98 Dixie Paper Cups lOOct $1.09 lb. bag ...... . $2.09 the swimming pools were built, to take the long-tim- e he large, beautiful arches in the dance hall were decorated with ruckloads of organdy rose garlands in all shades of pink. Also a small candy and refreshment sand was included within ihe dance hall area. The regular Saturday night dances became so popular that soon a large outdoor addition was built on the large covered hall, the dancingfcjirea to doubling handle the huge crowds. Ariel's Orchestra from SLC was the mosl ' popular band. Another pool was cold-wat- built to catch. flat carts that carried swimmers down a slide and a skim across the water. Swimming had been very popular but he addition of the large slide made it even more excit ing. Mrs. Taylor, who did the cooking for ihe hotel dining room was noted throughout the area for her delicious homemade apple and lemon meringue pies, available at all times. In 1928 Mr. Eastmond purchased Saratoga Resori, located directly across Utah lake from Geneva Resort. He managed both resorts 40-fo- l dining area and a pool hall. Hsf". employee at the resort umil 1935 when he sold Geneva Resort to the Utah Power and Light Company, who saw the site as a potential for a steam power plant . Plans for the power plant gathered dust during the next four years when the receding waters of the lake made such a venture the development since 1960 when the first boal slip was constructed in the harbor and rest rooms were buill in the picnic area. In 1975, Geneva SI eel found Ihey could no longer supply Ihe fill material for the marina, and Ihe Ulah National Guard began having problems wilh scheduling of vehicles, road clearances and vehicle insurance coverage. impractical. Increasing taxes and the cost of g building maintenance at the resort sparked the lorch razed An apparent halt has come to Ihe marina's developmenl but a grove of Irees st ill stands as sentinels over an area where thousands of people had the best limes of their lives. Many residents of Ulah County can stand among the Irees, close their eyes and hear the sweet strains of "Moonlight and Roses" or "When It's Springtime In The Rockes," or they may recall many precious events in their lives when Geneva Resort was in full swing. structures buill a half nearly century earlier by which the Captain Dallin. Anything ihal could be salvaged was sold to interested parties: lumber, the slide, flooring etc. Finally, hat was left was everything leveled by fire and an area hat once pleased timings of pleasure seekers was gone. For 20 years not hing was done at he Geneva Resort property site. Then in 1959 theOrem City Council envisioned a lakeside park and boai harbor on the site .of the old Extensive Resort. Geneva clearing of ihe area revealed a d lawn section large considered ideal for parks development. Numerous problems have beset Editors Note: Some of ihe early material in this sketch was taken from "Sagebrush lo Steel" by Clyde E. Weeks Jr. and some written by Jean E. Gordon. The pictures used are by courtesy of Inez T. Sutton and J.W. "Bun" Taylor of Provo. well-shade- . igt ttSW Ripe. (" I iit II Fresh Mushrooms 79 -- Mr ggj Prices Meadow Gold Cottage Cheese i6oz. . . Blade-cu- ...... 83c Meadow Gold 399' Buttermilk $15.79 mm tovt Toasty'os 89 . . Old Home Large White Sandwich Bread 69 99 W Cheddar Cheese $1.59ib. mm Golden Ripe Bananas Red Ripe Strawberries $2.39 Hostess Twinkles 3 pack packages. . 389' $1.29ib. . $1.09 lb. 55 qt Pot Roast t 3 ibs.89 .98 cups Fresh Mushrooms ... 79 cup Sweet Navel Oranges QEOCEJKt am 6 99 pounds cast Clover Club Tortilla Chips All Flavors v $L29 A&R Link Sausage. 2 Cereal i5oz Assorted Easter Eggs. Pot Roast April 91000 l, Blade-cu- t GOODS Effective Campbells Mushroom Malt-0-Mea- H once-thrivin- 1 StrawberriesJ Red $12.89 Crisco Oil 48 oz Diamond Walnuts of the had a ,arge a diving platform in Utah Lake. Ready plunge is Maurice "Lefty" Howard, a $4.49 Case JJ GENEVA RESORT before (above). Praise Laundry Detergent oor 1 AT take advantage of $3.29 case Geisha Pineapple crushslicechunk 11 A SS Soup Sprite - Tab Red Cream Ramblin iooz. Coke plus deposit WORKERS oz- - 25 lb. bag 98 - ft I (JL--A 40 lb. box Fresheners be,0)- put on a match with 4i No Name Dog Food Wizard Decorative Air a who raised him from a life-lon- $1.29Jgr 99 Ho,el sir iil ;vw ; o IS THE MAIN ENTRANCE Geneva i .Oil $1.29 i 'yiffidl SHOWN t igft V1 Keebler Fudge Stripes & Delux Grahams (Bonus Pack) daughter, run-dow- n aHgrtta 1 C O at Geneva Resort (right) was a main attraction of the mini-zothere. For special events, the man i CriSC Deiux Grahams "OLD BRUIN" the bear wrestling the bear. Geneva Resort was named in honor of Capt. W f cub would 2 Geneva Dallin. popularity with boaiing, fishing, regular excursions and weekly dances again resumed. Changes Ownership In June 1920 Leonard R, Thorii C. and Wallace S. Heberison purchased Geneva Resorl. They operated the facility for two years, and in 1923 Frank H. Easimond and Waller G. Taylor acquired lille to Ihe resort. During this period Ihe level of the lake reached an all time high. Ii didn't lake long for lie new owners to begin renovation of ihe resort, and soon a great fun area was back in family operation. The hotel contained a large dining room, a very large kitchen, a lobby with a confection store and a billiard room with several tables. The upstairs of the hotel, with approximately 12 rooms, became the living quarters for the Easimond and Taylor families and several full lime employees. The allic area of ihe hoiel was inhabited by thousands of bats and occasionally one would creep inio ihe living quarters, whereupon pandemonium would break loose. Directly across a court from lie hotel was i he large dance hall. On i he east and west sides of he court were located hoi dog and hamburger stands. In the rebuilding of the resori, acres of lawn were plained, repairs were made and gallons of while paini covered everything. A fresh green irim made the whole area look spic and span and almost new. In ihe center of the coun, a circular flowerbed and fountain were buill and tons of new gravel covered fooi paths everywhere. A playground was installed along the lake shore between the hotel and the cabin camping area which included swings, slides, tricky bars, t eet er-- l otters and even a small zoo with a bear as a fea ure attraction. Al this time all swimming was in the lake and a diving barge beckoned the more proficient swimmers and divers to swim and sunbathe in ihe deeper water. , It wasn't long until a large healed swiming pool was buill with individual bath houses on both the north and south ends of the pool, it had a shallow end for the use of children and a deep end with both low and high diving boards. The pool was west of the hotel and below an embankment which was terraced with rock walls and lawn. A long pier stretched behind the bathhouses and far out into U ah Iake where one could fish or rent a row-bofor a pleasure ride. People moved into the cabins for their summer vacations and the g building of friendships. For Ihe first dance under the management of Ihe new owners. rug Dallin's History Traced Geneva Resort, Utah County's most popular recreation spot from the early 1920's until the early 1930's, was mainly the result of the energies, enthusiasm and vigor of Frank and Clarrisa Eastmond and Walter G. and Agnes Taylor, of the famed facility during that era. Development of the site dates back to March 26, 1888 when Captain John Dallin bought the tract on the east shores of Utah Lake for $200. He planted lombardy poplar trees, dug an artesian well and built a small home on the site. By 1893 the site included piers, bath houses, a hotel, a spacious open-ai- r pavillion and a saloon. It had been named Geneva Resort in honor of the captain's daughter, Geneva Dallin. Between the years of 1890 and 1935, the prosperity and acitivity of the resort area closely paralleled the level of Utah Lake. High water brough good business and low water made business pxr. Around the turn of the century, as many as four special trains could be seen at one lime on the Geneva Resort spur of he Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. Trains originated from Ogden and Sail Lake City on ihe north, and Provo, Eureka, Manli and Nephi on Ihe south. y Family outings were adventures which usually involved competitive sporting events. -- A-1- 79 Red Delicious 4 Uppb . $5.09 3fa$l j |