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Show Only A Memory Today 33 - WEST valley Thursday, Feb VIEW 18,1982 'Copper Club1 Was Yesterday's Luxury Place by LaRee Pehrson From the road it looks like a Spanish Castle And, m truth, the Utah Copper Club was a Pleasure Palace that served as a social center for employes and their families . . particularly those who lived on base or in nearby Magna and Garfield Originally the club was to have been built at the Copper Community Park in Magna However, pressures from the town of Garfield resulted in its being placed midway between the finest Brunswick pool tables that money could buy There was even a small sized alley built for women, which they refused to use, so it was mainly used by kids On the west side of the mens shower room there was fancy exercise equipment, including an electric horse that had three different gaits, and a driving range to practice golf Other Spa type equipment and a punching bag was available to members east of the show ers Before the club was ballroom floor, Jarvis became a fight promoter who managed Maynard Nielsen and Frank Broderick Other local fighters included Max Joe Jensen, Hum- phreys, Bill Haymond, Julian Montoya, Sid Bouck, and Windmill Pearce Until the mid 1930s the smokers that were brought in by Ira Dern, to wowere men But from then on the girls were right there with the men, cheering for their favorite and yelling kill the bum off-limi- ts Cleve, Paul Shultz, Bill Treseder, Jerry Dunn, Ray Cromar, Rex Bill Mayberry and Johnny Jacobs But basketball was king at the club, and it was not uncommon to have to be at the facility by 5 p m in order to get a seat for a game that began at 7 30 or 8 oclock Four basketball teams, the Apex, Utah Copper at Bingham, Magna and Athur, all competed in the old Copper League W G (Bill) Larson, an player from Oak- all-sta- te from Dixie, and Theo Collett, the man who posed as model for the Indian statue at the Utah State Capitol In spite of the popularity of sporting events however the club dances were the activity that is most remembered by those who danced to the big band sound In the beginning two local bands provided music for the hundreds of people who flocked to the facility from Magna, Garfield, Hunter, Gran- Itl S ft -- . T n i ifti pi ger, Salt Lake and Murray. But in later years Adolph Brox, Max Engman, and Eugene Jelesmk played tunes like Deep Purple, Sentimental Journey, Mane, and the One Oclock Jump The local bands included George Frasers Seven Keys and Percy Pearces Pep-ster- s Frasers group varied over the years with Garn Rowsell, Bud Swensen, Orion Boucher, Glen Cahoon, Cla-ro- n Alldredge, Keith Tomlin, George King, Bert Gourley, Ralph The Reception Room with its leather upholstered furniture, gleaming hardwood floors, persian rugs and spaciousness all attest to the luxury which once abounded in the Utah Copper Clubhouse in Magna. Gourley, Ralph Eskel-son- , Delbert Eskelson, Paul Kiefer, Ed Nichol-sen- , Victor Hart, Myrna Leasy Hardy, and Dean Thomas participating in the music making In addition, Frasers brother, Vane, and his father, Jack, were also part of the band, as well as Virgil Dimond, the only member who still plays, and who can be seen every Tuesday two towns on a slope just east of the Arthur Concentrator There, for 35 years, it offered a wide variety of sports and recreation facilities including bowling alleys, a gym, ballroom and lounges It even had a portico, where passengers m cars and buggies could load under-cover, away from the ments Completed in ele- the y gray stucco building was built of the finest materials at a cost of $150,000 And although its completion opened up a whole new vista of activities for company employes, it also hastened the demise of the Garfield Mens club which up until then had been the place for social functions The porch that extends across the front of the building was covered with screen to let in the cool breezes But the winds also brought in fine particles of dust from the adjacent tail pond and before too long the screen was replaced with glass windows that looked down onto the eluded exhibition games with the Harlem Globe trotters, Donkey Bas ketball, and square dan cing that featured as high as 20 squares a night However all the enter tainment was not geared only for adults, for every year from the time it opened in 1925, until it closed on De cember 31, 1901, Utah Copper hosted a Christ- flamboyant character who wore purple hats, red shirts and green trousers, was manager of the facility, and liquor was not allowed inside of the club But outside m the parking lot almost everybody had a bottle . even during prohibition days Jules Sadler traffic mas party for kids that saw a ton of candy and nuts bagged for the small fry and Tom Morgan was company security who kept things under control When Dick Knight became manager times had changed The booze was brown bagged into the clubhouse where a 25 foot bar had been set up on the porch No liquor was consumed at the bar however but it was not uncommon for Knight to sell 10,000 cups of mixer, use a ton of ice, and have seven Youngsters were bussed to the facility from the area schools, to see the tw o story high tree in the lobby that stretched its fragrant green branches well past the balcony on the entertainment that ranged from show s to mov les 12x12 foot wool There were also LDS church sponsored Gold and Green Balls held in the club, that saw boys in their best bibs and tuckers and girls clad in long flow ing formals In addition there were district scout jamborees that w ere highlighted by a variety of awards, and M Men basketball Carl Madsen was the first president of the club, and the man with the longest tenure of office Others included Bert Mix, Ed Gardner, E E McCarty, Lester Sabin, Hop Ensign, Ross McQuivey, and Jack Ahlquist who was president when the club was phased out that Howard Jarvis, father of Californias Proposition 13, used to box in the mam events With the new facility, that offered a larger ring set up on the all-tim- champion for three years in a row. Others who were strong competitors in the bowling field were Parley Mc- - ley, Idaho, played on three of the squads at one time or another, ending up on the Arthur . . . the squad in 1928-2last year of the Copper League before the mills closed during the depression Others on the team included Ray Boothe, Ken Anderson, Sid 9 Spencer, LeGrande Dykeman, Hal Egbert, Roy Haws, Bud Smuin, all state from Lehi, Grant Empey, all state night at the Salt Palace. inThe Pepsters cluded Percy Pearce and his red hot trumpet, backed up by Darrell Dimond, Howard Green, Paul Keifer, Claudia Peterson, Len Mecham and Rex Mills New Years Eve was reunion time at the club when people came from all over the valley, and from other states as well, to be home for Christmas and welcome in the New Year at the THIS IS ALL THERE IS SALE TO ITI NO WIRES - NO CORDS PRICE NO TUBES Daily Hours 9 30 am 5 30 pm Monday thru Friday Saturday 9 30 am 1 00 pm INCLUDES ELECTRONIC HEARING TESTS PROPER HEARING AID SELECTION AND DISPENSING AIDS SOLD ELSWHERE UPTOS600 00 Citilpjjiihrs -- HEARING AIDS SINCE 1946 SALT LAKE CITY 57 East Broadway carpets, 35? 2341 PROVO OGDEN iF YOU ARE NOT BUYING HEARING AIDS FROM US, MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE MURRAY 5554 So State 252 1351 Come In Or LOGAN You pay $3.98 for end only 8$ to broil it! a steak V (lt would also cost only to cook six steaks.) 8C SURGERY A DR. RON BROWN Podiatrist Foot Specialist When there's trouble a "foot" CALL US FEET Callouses, corns and bunions Bone spurs and calcium deposits Arch problems Ingrown toenails Foot pain and other problems involving feet and lower extremities FREE EXAMINATION With This Coupon Only Expires 8 82 ARE EXTRA IF NEEDED 967-333- 8 4370 So. Redwood All Insurances I Accepted PHONE 262-135- 1 V DISEASES & of the ately needs, but will very likely never have Precision made for you from YOUR FREE HEARING LOSS TEST. This is the most popular type of custom ALL IN THE EAR Hearing Aid sold in the U.S A. today! (AND YOU MAY EVEN HEAR WHISPERS, TOO) The library and card room with massive fireplace where thousands of employees gathered for fun and relaxation. The sports that drew the most attention, however, both inside and outside of town, were bowling and basketball W. G (Bill) Larson had the e average at the club, remaining multi purpose center that Magna so desper- E small appliances and a variety of groceries gi built, boxing and wrestling matches were conducted m a ring set up on the stage of the old Empress Theatre in Magna And it was here puppet It was a sad day for Magna when the club was closed down Garfield was in the process of becoming just a memory in old mens minds, and the club house was rapidly becoming the house with nobody in it Today the undraped windows stare with dead eyes at a tailings pond that has now become a mountain And the rooms no longer echo with the big band sound Instead it is being used for storage and office space, but many people feel that had it been built at Copper Park it might have been the alive today . FEBRUARY SPECIAL Offer Expires Sat., Feb. 27, 82 CUSTOM-MADHEARING AID THAT'S WORN cartons of gum were given away free, and needless to say next morning there was a lot of cleaning to do Also during Knights tenure, new bowling alleys with semi automatic pinsetters, and four new pool tables were installed Monthly dues raised from $1 a month to $2, and Bingo games were introduced that offered $1,000 worth of prizes There were two-stor- waste land Inside there were polished hardwood floors, Persian rugs, and leather upholstered furniture On the mezzanine, velvet easy chairs offered the epitome of comfort. And in the basement six bowling lanes were flanked by the Other activities in vities began at midnight and lasted until 3am From 1925 to 1947, B L Jones, a colorful, with a Sterns Knight Roadster out front, being mezzanine They also enjoyed a variety of ven away big dance If New Years fell on Sunday the festi- directed in 1927 people working the area In addition 20 1925, rapidly expanding Utah Copper Club house, as it appeared driven by Roy Larsen of Magna. Typically, customers use from 50C to $2 verthtf cbdiidty each day. When you think cf the mony things electricity does for us, its sl one of die best bargains around. S8W- Sy ; K r y& yi! |