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Show " Our Past Captured Me On FUm gR By Margaret Van Noy Profiles Writer It seems like only yesterday that history buffs, archaeologists, and antique collectors were the only people interested in the past. But with . r - V fj the coming of Roots, suddenly everyone is trying to find out who he is. Suddenly, everyone is collecting bits and pieces of yesterday memorabelia anything that is part -- -- of what once was. Folks are hunting through attics, peering into old ' Bibles, gazing through family albums and cursing the day they threw out grandma Jane's old bathtub. More people are busy restoring and refurbishing. Suddenly old" is better. So it is that we are indebted to those who handed down or preserved those objects that would give us insight into yesterday. In 1909, a young man brought his family to Tooele. He was part of the contingent, personnel and construction crews, of the International Smelting Company who came to build the new smelter in the hills east of the city. It is our good fortune that the young man, Howard M. Smith, was an avid photographer in addition to being a clerk. A vociferous shutter snapper, he went around Tooele A Utah Historical Society photo possibly taken around 1890 shows the town spread out beneath Little Mountain. Note the popular trees, a landmark of early pioneer days, the neatly sectioned blocks and farms. The main part of town stretches out toward the Creat Salt Lake and Stanxbury bland. Howard M. Smith did his own developing and printing on the back porch of the home he built on 1st West. r..V .t f shooting pictures of his new home. At the turn of the century people lived in houses with gingerbread trim. The ladies wore tightly laced corsets and big hats blooming with flowers or bows of filmy net. Boys wore knee pants and the men sport- ' ed bowlers. t For the most part they still rode in n vehicles and lived at a leisurely pace that most of us envy i,.. , horse-draw- , I today. Although it was the coming of the smelter that was destined to change not only the landscape surrounding the sleepy town, but the whole way of life for the predomin-entl- y Mormon village, Howard Smith preserved on film Tooele as it was at the turn of the century. His photos, catalogued and compiled by his son Wilbur H. Smith, himself a history buff, remain to give us a view of those early days. . JIHiiii! iiillimitiilii.iiiiiiiiiijl- - tj , MM The first store in the new town did a thriving business with the men in their bowler hats and children togged out in flowery hats, long stockings, knee pants and tarns. At the turn of the century Tooeleans built houses with cupolas, bay windows and gingerbread trim. Picket fences and gates just made for swinging have also disappeared from the scene. !Trr .3.5 'ffTi SJfl The ticket office of the Tooele Valley Railroad later became the Tooele Confectionary. There was a miniature golf course behind it. C. R. McBride was the ticket agent. It was tom down in 1930. .'r . Back in those days, excursions were in. Tooele folks rode the train to everywhere. Among the favorite spots were the look hilarious beaches of the Great Salt Lake. These bathers had just as much fun as we do today even if the toggery does know. for faces to us now. Look Alfred Hanks is the laughing man, third man up, on the left. you be- The first motor car for smelter personnel of gan skimming the rails in 1909. It was one two such cars used during construction of the T.V.R.R. The first passenger train to go through Tooele on the T.V.R. was an excursion train originating in Montana. At every to buy a stop it picked up prospective laborers bound for employment at the smelter. Part of the deal was the opportunity side of of town. east on the plot ground The excursion was a complete success with over 250 lots sold by the Tooele Improvement Co. The cite, one half mile east of Tooele, became known as New Town. socks and hats worn by young boys. Note the knee-pant- l 1 - - in education for their Typical of the early settlers interest children was this impressive Central School built in the grand manner of the day with towers and fancy facade. The old building stood where the present Central School annex is located. It was tom down in the late 20 s or early 30 s. This 12 cylinder Pierce Arrow was the private chariot of the International Smelter before the railroad was completed. It is evident that traveling in those days did not involve much speed. Otherwise ladies with their plumed and bedecked bonnets would be in for trouble. The engine outlasted the body and was taken to Walker Mine where it powered a hoist. |
