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Show r. p' ' by GREG LOEBEL x s? w.r r -- ra.ilr., - :V ) K" at Ilf1-:- 4 W J6 J J6 Rock Candy Mountain Back in simpler times, a brakeman on (lie Denver and Rio Grande Railroad penned a little tune ulxmt a holxi's paradise that centered on a dream of a mountain made of sugar, where life was easy and work was unknown. That brakeman, Harry "Haywire Mat MiClintixk, recorded his Big Rmk CjuJ) Mountain in 1928. familiar with die classic folk rune, for most big Rotk Candy Mountain was simply a mythical place, a metaphor for die yearning of an ideal world. Hut in fact, the mountain is as real as air a unique caramel colored rxk formation tlut broods in central T - V' 3 J Utah's Sevier Counry, just above Matysvale (pop. 381), 20 miles south of Salt Lake City. The mountain received its name following the release of McClintocks song. As one story has it, in the summer of 1929, Ken Olsen and some friends 1 The suddenness of the mountains appearance, its unique yellow and chocolate colored hue, and the fame of the song all combine to give Big Rock jokingly placed a sign with McClintock's song title Candy Mountain its magical effect. Additionally, onto a post at the mountains base. Olsen also the "Lemonade Springs" of fresh water became a affixed anotlier sign next to die nearby natural spring part of the draw. The springs have always been said to have healing with the moniker "Lemonade Springs, referencing another line in the song. The names held. Ever since, properties, and people like to bottle some of the the wing and the mountain have water to take home Oh the buzzinof the bees with them, Staples says. Times Ixtn intertwined. Both song and mountain In the cigarette trees change, but Candy Mountains effect always stays the same. would elevate to greater fame Near the soda water fountain No matter how complicated die in the 1950s, after the great At the lemonade springs world gets, peoples basic wants folksmger Burl Ives took a trip Where the bluebird sings and hojies remain simple. I think on the old passenger train that On the big rock candy mountain worid-famo- used to stop at Marysvale. Ives, Harry Haywire captured by mountain magic on his visit, then recorded a version of I Jaywire Mac's ditty that became hugely popular. More recently, the song was included on the sound track of die movie Oh Brother. When Art Thou. Kay Staples, a Riclifield native and local country and folksingerguitanst, has felt the Candy Mountain's draw and lias seen the times change around it. "Before was built, most people did their iighway 89 or on the train, Staples says. "Marysvale happened to be a natural stopping point. On the way in, you come around a bend and traveling along I Candy Mountain just kind of jumps out at you. The mountain's unusual yellowish hue is pan of its immediate visual effect, but it's also said that if you dig under the surface, die soil is gray. After being Kay Staplat, right, and brother Terrill sing about a hobo paradita. Page 10 American Profile volcanic activity. Minerals that permeate the rock and soil oxidize when they meet the air, changing the color. exposed to the mountain air, however, the soil changes back to the yellowish-brow- n color. A geologist die result tlut comes from ancient explains magical" Mac McClintock us being around the mountain helps you remember that. Pulitzer Prize-winnin- g nov- elist Wallace Stegner writes about those basic wants and hopes in his novel tided after the Big Rock Candy Mountain. Stegners story centers on a family struggling to survive the lean times of the early 20th century and brings forth the emotional message that, no matter die present lurdship, there must be a better life if only it can be found. The emotion that I laywire Mac first sang ahout in his dreamland of a hobo's paradise is and always has been part of the Candy Mountain's magic. If you ever take a trip there, scuff your feet around in the yellow soil, drink from the Lemonade Springs, and remember: The magic isnt in the rotk or the water but in the inspiration it brings. Greg Loehel is a free lame writer from St. George, Utah. |