| Show ' 10i' '' ' ' ' ' ' ' 1::c i 40 4 ' oir 1e:'i:it Alfpist Y t gakt ztibtme 14 x ec kLi t 1 I I h Section W 3 1989 Sunday September e 8 AFNODOEDR sV W-- 3 1 1 Page n Ob Ek eiRch 0 :U'':'-1- '!:ITi— "'''''''""r7-'r'ilt17117--27- AZitioav:-- a -'s tin 0 - '14 t 4 '41 V t 0 4'rotg '"tL' t :'::::'"iL4 1 - 1 rI CZ) 45) $4- 0 - citk 'r1:--'l 1 -- '' e 1 ' t4 '4 k11417 I - - ' ''' " 4 t 4 tr "°'25 44 t k l'O i W 411d- Itt V40 ' it 711t‘ 1' 71 ' 0 ' - ) ' ' - k 1:4 :':: ' - 1:i- - PPI-- ' '3 PO 'i' t':-- (Astty: !!t):! : : - -- : Tr'1' N0' ciltr4:444Akw- Vitt k: r6LtP-- 1 His early mentors included Cecil pioneering movie maker at MGM and Guy Gibson head scenic artist for the studio Mr Parker was hired to paint props wings and background scenery for their productions He had a natural gift for painting animals and became successful as a wildlife artist His work appeared in outdoor magazines and he was commissioned to paint portraits of some of the world's most famous horses for the Hollywood Downs Clubhouse Calif "I painted the best he said "Sea Biscuit Man 0' War Citation and Native Dancer" on the walls of his trailer are pictures of leopards painted from life "I used to keep leopards as pets" he said "You have to get a permit and the requirements vary from state to state Leopards can be trained and like most animals or humans for that matter they respond to affection and food "I sold one leopard to Barnum and Bailey Circus for their wild animal act and I promised to deliver the cat to Knoxville Tenn where the circus was performing "It was a long trip so I stopped when I saw a motel with a sign that said they accepted pets I asked the manager 'Do you allow cats?' He said 'I love cats' "When I walked in with my leopard on a leash the manager leaped behind the counter The folks in the CEDAR CITY — Because Chuck Parker's prayers were answered generations of people will enjoy the work in the beauty of his gold-lea- f Randall L Jones Memorial Theatre on the Southern Utah State College campus "I prayed God would let me live long enough to complete the work" the artist who suffers from degenerative arthritis of the neck and spine said "I wanted to do something for this town which has been my home for 20 years I wanted to leave something behind" What Mr Parker will eventually leave behind is a stunning sample of his handiwork The 165-folong fascia of the theater's Royal Gallery is leafed with Italian gold The sumptuous Obert C Tanner Founders Room is crowned by a deeply coved ceiling also burnished with gold leaf Mr Parker who has the look of a lean and weathered cowboy was "just passing through" Cedar City back in 1969 when he stopped to paint a few signs It proved the last stop in a nomadic life Today he lives in a trailer on the outskirts of town with a huge Australian English sheep dog surrounded with memorabilia from a colorful past He was born Charles Lawrence Parker in Dalton Texas in 1911 He left there at 18 and spent most of his life on the road "I'm a commercial artist and sign painter by profession" Mr Parker said "and I learned by the apprentice method I traveled from one town to another painting signs to make a little money and learning from the people I worked for Believe me I had some fine teachers" trr cheered" Mr Parker 4 -4044iktoo' Al I t '11'4 TA A 4 - f one of the most propitious stops of his career at the Whitt Sign Co in Chicago "Mr Whitt was a gold-lea- f artist and he taught me everything I know His company had the White Owl Cigar account and we did the signs on glass with the owl and lettering in gold leaf He also taught me the pro-Se- e W-- 5 Column I) r t 4 if IF 't ' '4 itlk it '1 ' '''' 4 441 ' ' V 4 'r 4 - A ' 1 T I! 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' ' 'if t it- i t7 41 (5: -1 111 ''"g91--':- ': -- - r 14( 1''I'I 1 was 28 when he made ‘ - - 4 !i t4i 31'4:' ' 3I ' r :! t't 1 ‘ I '4 (17'N' A pp 141rii 2 e't 1:'':' 07:- - ' A B De Mille Tribune Lifestyle Writer 3 ‘" I VI' Pat Capson I- i k 3' - A - - r11144'''' 40(01!'"77 3 vrz L ''' ' ' --- -- ' By P p-- - A :i--- ''4t4 1o7tit il 3U-4"4:4A - it A k 4' '7 :'::''j-':- ) 4 oiktri :::::-0 I ' pp f's )e 7 : i) - 17 Ir 41"- 77: 1 : t t - 1Zirett leigZill """'I'"'n211k4'4 'i : s4 A ' : 4 ' '1 r -- ' '' 1 !- :- IP rt"P "e-- ''"'''""'W"j3r"24"C' l'' PmV1P Q00--- : - 1 t :r‘x::::::i:17(: ::i: ' P''' - 7 --- 1 44' ' Ap 'P' :44p ' 1" - 4 0 3 ":N-t:'''‘!t- ' 7 k f)‘ f -' - 'Cd1 I ' 1 ICII10tti p01ip‘ - i:4 i :iti S : 14I ' I i - A '0'-i- - o :I 4t : :' : ? 1 : ' t 0! - " 0 0 i' -447 Ae'Sigt - :! t42? t ' 1' f etoo":""''' t '''' 1" '' 4 ' - ' tl ' :: X-- if " -- F ow- ttf 000444f 0 ' 4o: it: 4114 w FX - t '''''111 4- - : CD' ' 4 r 4— gewirroP ' Vi" 4 -t Aaboatst2 0 4' - tx '1- t 9 P- ftt - i- 1 i Artist Chuck Parker holds gold-lea- f square top like the 22000 he applied in Randall L Jones Memorial Theatre Cedar City Coved ceiling of OC Tanner Founders Room is burnished with gold leaf The Texas-born artist led a nomadic life until coming to Cedar City 20 years ago 4ow 4 ck) 444404 444444 iff- 1 ' 41: '—tt'- 4 - r c i" 4 440 4r 41 (41 r' ' '' - i ' I' ' 4)C v" I 1 i Tribune Staff Photos by Lynn R Johnson Design: Steve Baker 'Don't let them put me with the bull throwers' Promise me you won't let them put me in the State Home for Newspaper Columnists when I'm old Or the State Home for the Chronically Bald Or worse the Professional Bull Throwers' Home I can't imagine anything more discouraging than being compelled to spend the balance of my days surrounded by a lot of people like me as opposed to spending my retirement years among the same diverse collection of people with whom I now spend my leisure hours I mention all this because of the horrible precedent some of the veterans around here and elsewhere in the country now threaten to set Some veterans' organizations are trying to force the construction of nursing homes solely for veterans Isn't retirement boring enough without that? I I can't imagine anything worse than spending retirement confined with other people like me If variety is the spice of life then similarity is of life Normal people the Jell-- a - i t411 5 Hall ' t0 Bill - don't spend their spare time during their working years only with indi- viduals from their own profession Why would they want to do that when there is nothing but spare time? Most amazing of all these veter k ans' organizations are proposing even more narrow — an institution housing nothing but people who shared one experience in life — the military Can you imagine anything more aggravating than spending the rest of your days hearing the same war stories over and over? These people are heroes Why should they be punished like that? I can't think of anything more dull with the possible exception of a nursing home filled with nothing but fly fishermen each one repeating those same boastful yarns day after d ty month after month year after ye r And the odd thing abou the shared experience of veterPT is that — was some of it — facing de o quite unpleasant Inidt'ie booing the clientele of a nurs ig home on the fact they shared oi e hurrillhe experience If that's the criterion then why not a nursing tu ale for tile survivors of airplale crashes? Or the surviros of a chicken-sala- d epidemic? Or people who have known the heartbreak of gum disease? Or those who have had more than in the family at one three teen-ager- s time? Talk about hell on earth Or the wives of fishermen? We sper d Ar working years assohours with people from ciatinr othei lines of work Indeed the r ple we choose to sit around and I t are rarely people from our own profession As fond as a person can become of we get et )ugh of them and of the job at wok We don't want to spend our leisure hours talking shop That's what hobbies are for — to rest our brains People leave the shop and factory to jog bowl and play tennis not because that is easier than their jobs but because it's a change of pace from their jobs — be g aer cause it's different It is our differences that intrigue our differences that energize conversations and keep us awake in the rocking chair It is our similarities that put us to sleep A few things in common make us comfy with one another but too much in common is stifling I can't imagine anything more enjoyable for others than to sit around in their declining years listening to a bearded newspaper columnist spin yarns What a terrific way to spend your retirement But I can't imagine anything worse for me than to sit around in my declining years listening to 150 bearded newspaper columnists spin yarns Talk about too much of a gocd thing And why would anyone want to spend 20 years telling and listening to stories about the day Harrigan got bald-heade- d bald-heade- d snot in the leg? That's a fascinating story the first 50 times you hear it but after a month or two it gets old Not that veterans haven't earned special treatment They have However they aren't the only ones Mothers also have risked their lives for an important duty So have police and firefighters So have junior high Do we build separate teachers homes for them? But even if we could why would we want to do something so rotten to people who deserve better than that? Isn't it enough that veterans fought for their country? Why should we torture them now by making them spend the rest of their days fighting each other over whose turn it is to tell the story about the day I larrigan got shot? a4RrnroPrIVAKIloPtrantoligWale111110"106Perelholeattrsr: 21115 t- Bill Hall is a columnist and editorial page writer for the Lewiston Morning Tribune Idaho a Salt Lake Tribune group newspaper L vwow L f00fPlar41VoSteLPMR911Mavogwoavge tn"' |
