| OCR Text |
Show DAILY THE t 2 'it CHRONICLE UTAH ;, II v ! .g, v., 4ni -- . ........ w ... t - -- mm m "w " - , - I rm -'- "n y - V WYNNE PARRY Chronicle Feature Editor In his stint as curator ;it the Fort Douglas MilJess McCall saw some strange itary Museum, things. Sometimes, visitors wandered in and asked to have pictures taken with the soldier dressed in a War uniform. blue "Who is he? Of course it's Clem," McCall, an ardent military historian, explains over early morning coffee at Dee's. McCall speaks of the soldier dressed in period costume as a mischievous old friend. Clem is also Fort Douglas' ghost in residence-nam- ed by Roy Scouts and occasionally seen leaning up against the post in front of the museum, or sitting on the parade grounds' cannon. In McCall's stories Clem tantalizes tourists, pops up in campus police reports and keeps lonely museum workers company. He was the unidentified man in blue who once chased female students near South Campus Drive. The ghost meant no harm. "He was just being smart," McCall says. Once the site of the fort's vegetable gardens, the area around the annex and Huntsman Center is probably comfortable territory for the ghost, post-Civ- il McCall says. He explains Clem's presence with an old military saying: "Even though you're out of the military, you want to stay near the flagpole." However, the flagpole in Stilwell Field doesn't represent the armed forces so much any more. Even within the military's buildings, McCall speculates strange inhabitants and renovations have kept the ghost from certain buildings. Built in 1875 and nearly identical. Building 631 and 632 served as barracks initially. But the addition of carpet, insulation, light plugs and phone jacks converted 631 into an office for a military contractor. On the other hand, 632 remained relatively intact. It now houses the museum and, frequently, Clem. "It still feels like home. He can relate," McCall says. His own encounters with Clem have been tied to the museum's library probably where the ghost feels most comfortable. A I r ,-- Mi--- ?v five-butto- 30-ye- ar ydi officer's club, each told McCall identical ghost stories. After locking up for the night, the bartender would see light in the closed building and hear voices and jubilation. "All three stories are identical, they parallel one another. Of these guys, none knew one another," McCall says. The cemetery has stories too. McCall received an inquiry from a man who had taken a photo of his young boy kneeling before a grave. According to the man, a figure appeared behind the boy. The man sent McCall a sketch, unwilling to part with the photo. Such things are not so surprising from a cemetery and the fort's graveyard has no shortage of history. During World War II, POW camps proliferated in the United States. Fort Douglas housed first Italians and later Germans. The cemetery, now buried between high-tec- h companies in Research Park, holds some of their graves. Many POWs went to work farming around the state. In Salinas, a guard opened fire on POWrs. He killed nine Germans, now buried in the fort's cemetery. The guard was declared insane, according to Charles "Chuck" Hibbard, the museum's historian. The scenery around the cemetery has changed h with the arrival of neighbors like compaAnd Genetics. so have Clem's stompny Myriad ing grounds, which are shriveling alongside the military presence atop the foothills. Only a small southern portion of the original fort remains, perhaps one day to be gone entirely, taking its ghosts with it. The future site of the Olympic Village may not be the proper home for a soldier's ghost "I have a feeling Clem may be leaving Fort Douglas," McCall states matter of factly. wparrychronicle. utah. edu bio-tec- became an Army air base for Brief History of Fort Douglas WYNNE PARRY Chronicle Feature Editor From the foothills overlooking the young city of Salt Lake, soldiers carved a place for themselves in Utah lore. They prospected for ore, fought American Indians and kept a watchful eye on the Mormon settlement in the valley below. After its establishment in 1862, the fort encompassed a tidy corner of the Salt Lake Valley much larger than it now docs. An initial survey drew the fort's borders beyond the U's campus in all directions. At that time, the fort covered about four square miles, according to Charles "Chuck" the museum's historian. With the acquisition of Red Butte Canyon, the fort later grew and then shrank. About the time of the Hib-bar- d, Civil-Wra- r, the United States was split in two not just politically, but geographically. The frontier rested just west of the Mississippi River, but young states had already sprung up along the Pacific Coast. Protecting the connection between these two areas was essential for the survival of the Union, according to Hibbard. So in 1862, Col. Patrick Edward Connor and his troops arrived with instructions to protect the telegraph and mail routes. However, the American Indians were not the sole source of aggravation for Connor. "There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Connor felt that one of his jobs was to keep his eye on the Mormons," Hibbard said. Connor ultimately became an influential anti-Morm- political CHRONICLE FEATURE EDITOR k i'- - J Often a prankster, Clem once opened all eight of McCall's cabinet drawers. Another time, Clem began flipping the covering on the table where McCall was working. "It was disturbing, and I Fprt Douglas Cemetery had a few words with him to n tell him I didn't have the time to fool around with blue jacket, the sort Clem wore a is Civil War up until the the five issued to soldiers after him now. Mind you, this after I'd had years of experience with him so he was becoming a 1900s. Shortly after the establishment of Fort Dougood, old friend," McCall says. Others' stories corroborated his own. glas, this period was not a good one for soldiers. The historian in McCall burns to ask Clem Pay was low, rations small, living conditions about a soldier's life prior to the turn of the cenpoor and suicide rates high. Then, in the 1870s, is But a the the Army decide to improve housing. Barracks, fort. Clem mute presence at tury. like Building 631 and 632, appeared. The enlisted "The one tragedy is that he can't talk," McCall says. But he has studied Clem's physical manifesmay as well have been moving from a Motel 6 to a Marriott, according to McCall. tations, however silent. Rations and medical care also improved. One day, as McCall read with his feet propped a McCall noticed from on the chair, Judging by his fondness for the museum, Clem something up corner of his eye. Clem was peaking at him from was probably one of those residing in the barracks. Clem could have been one of 40 men who around a corner. span, According to McCall, the best thing to do if slept there at any one time over a McCall says. So his true identity will likely you want to observe a ghost is ignore him. McCall followed his own advice and sunk down, remain a mystery. as absorbed into the Professional places, like opera houses, stadithe chair, though by deeper all his and military installations, lend themselves to ums while vision the book, focusing peripheral on Clem. hauntings, according to McCall. In these places, the dead may feel an obligation Feeling safe, the ghost stepped into full view, 18 to stick around, through a sense of duty, a need to "probably 15 or feet in front of me, legs apart, hands on his hips, looking at me. And then with a protect or to take care of unfinished business. Suicide victims often cling to their homes, as do slight movement of his head from side to side, I curiis those searching for vengeance. what This was studying doing. guy very ous." Stories McCall collected while serving as curaMcCall studied Clem's face, remarking it was tor from 1989 to 2001 indicate Clem may not be round and his hair very dark brown with a part the fort's only supernatural presence. on the left side. He had a beard much like Gen. Three bartenders who worked in the former Ulysses S. Grant's, and stood about 5 feet 7 inches tall. He was stocky, weighing about 160 pounds. His uniform bore no rank. "I then dropped the book, and his eyes got as big as -iiP'-ifrt::-, saucers you might say. He Ml darted to his left into the hallway," McCall said. But before the ghost McCall noticed escaped, ill V'i 1 - Lx.t.r.L f y - - V f w voice. lied against attempts to close the fort, Though no outright clashes erupted, the two sides fought each other through their newspapers, Hibbard said. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints wielded the Deseret News, countering the "Gentile" newspaper established at the fort the first daily paper in the terri- which had become a powerful tory. The passage of time has embellished the conflict. According to Hibbard, an "old story" tells of a Fort Douglas cannon pointed at Brigham Young's house. It's obviously untrue a cannon from that era could not shoot a mile, and the city was about three miles away. But the city crept closer as time went on. Prior to World War I, citizens ral eco- nomic force in the region. The fort reached its high point during Wrorld War I, Hibbard said. The fort established a large general hospital where victims of mustard gas were treated. But the flu epidemic that swept the country filled most of the hospital beds. Prisoners of war arrived too. And eventually the fort housed "enemy aliens," considered seditionists and agitators by the U.S. government. It incarcerated and deported some of these people without allowing them legal recourse setting historical precedent for the government's actions at home during today's "war on terrorism," Hibbard said. During World War II, the fort WYNNE PARRY WPARRYCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU 581-704- 1 non-comb- at functions. But as soon as the war ended, the fort began to shrink away, Hibbard said. "The fort was not big enough for modern armies to train because by that time the city surrounded the fort," he said. The fort's land was broken off piecemeal to form what is now the Health Sciences Center, Research Park and other areas. In 1991, the U acquired 51 acres much of the remaining fort and decided to expand its use as a residential area. The arrival of the d these plans. Olympics Twenty-on- e new buildings, including the Heritage Center, have joined the historical ones left by the milijump-starte- tary. The military still occupies the southern end of the fort, which functions as a reserve center. wparrychronicle.utah.edu |
