Show The Herald Journal Logan Utah Page16 Wednesday November 8 1995 A WATER JPor a man who’s spent practically all of his life in the dry states of Utah and Idaho Delwyn Newbrand has water in his veins Plenty of it It courses on through his body along with his blood It flows to his mind to his mouth to the stories he glee— and meeting with fully shares of decades spent pursuing it success “I know where every little drop of water is around here” the resident of Avon says proudly It’s a bold statement for sure but one Newbrand backs to the end You must obtain that kind of confidence when nothing but a forked stick has helped you locate roughly 300 wells “And trafck never a dry one yet” Newbrand says of his record Some people might call him a “water dowser" or a “water witch” for this uncanny ability to find the clear underground liquid And then as Newbrand himself acknowledges some people might even call him stupid and aU washed out for believing and practicing such a thing But he doesn’t let that stop him “A lot of people think it’s a bunch of BS but ) know it isn’t” he said the comers of his mouth breaking into a grin “Nobody knows why but when it works it works and that’s it” In fact rather than a water witch Newbrand prefers to think of himself as a “water diviner” “I feel like that’s a blessing God gave me” the former construction worker and farmer said “I’ve helped a lot of people find water” He demonstrated his mystical “gift” recently on the porch of his Avon home He first pulled out a branch from a chokecherry tree with the bark whittled away at the end That’s done because otherwise he said the bark might twist off in his hand during the water divination Using a stick from a tree that bears pitted fruit is very important to the process although Newbrand can’t explain why “It just won’t work with other kinds” he said sheepishly With the tip of the proper stick pointing upward Newbrand gripped the two forked ends with the little fingers of his hand£ nearest each other This action places tension on the stick and takes the forked ends splayed somewhat Tlicn it’s off to the finding Balancing the stick and his crutches Newbrand took a few steps forward (Suddenly) All of a sudden the top point of the stick swung violently downward up then down again “I can't hoM it sec!” Newbrand shouted “But I can walk right back and sec it stops If the point is up there’s no water If you go over water it will go down” When asked how an observer would know he wasn’t faking it he merely smiled “I just can’t hold it that’s how” he said Besides Newbrand said he knows there’s an underground stream beneath his porch and that’s one reason why he built his house where he did in 1949 Not only can he find water Newbrand said but he also can determine how much of it there is and how far below ground To show this he traded his chokecherry stick for a thick piece of wire that he had made into a spiral He held this makeshift tool in front of him as he leaned almost motionless against a porch wall above the point where the stick had indicated water His wrist was particularly static Within seconds however the wire began to move left and right back and land-lock- ed ed WITCH t D AN i V HIS MAO 1C f STICKS Delwyn Newbrand must have water coursing through his veins because armed only with forked a ‘ branch this has spent a lifetime locating underground water well-wish- er forth ” Newbrand whispered at the end of the count After holding still a few seconds the wire then changed direction this time bobbing up and down before circling and stopping “Thirty-two- " Newbrand said then turned to offer an explanation The wire’s motion meant that it was about 41 feet down to the water w ith roughly 32 feet of water below that he said d Newbrand this aspect of the craft through trial and “Forty-one- fine-tune- TEXT: JENNIFER K HATCH PHOTOS: R HART EVANS See WATER on Page 15 STOOP formation may halt defamation of mature people Group will eliminate use of words like coot fogey codger and bag By Edson Allen Scnpps Howard News Sendee Not long ago a freshman congressman angered me when he said old people arc interested only in airline ticket discounts It was frustrating because there was no one to rebut him or as I would have preferred punch him in the nose Almost every special-interegroup has an organization to advance its cause and to defend it acainst defamation For st example would you dare to trifle with someone who is a member of AARP NOW and NRA? This identifies a mature militant nist who uses firearms femi- Surprisingly there is one large body of Americans without an advocacy organization to act belligerently in its defense To fill this void I hereby announce the formation of a permanent watchdog committee to ‘‘Stop Trashing Our Old People" Oji is ‘ acTonvm soon to be copyrighted STOOP" The basic purpose of STOOP is to halt the defamation of mature people both firau mSttfir verbally and graphically by word or deed by still or moving pictures by inference or body language by sneer or b smirk b hook or bv crook plan to get a lawyer — an old one who will work for nothing an honest one and thus a needy one — to help me dcn up the language Why shouldn’t we have the same protection of our dignity against slur and slander as virtually every other ethnic religious sexually oriented and geographical segment cf our population? rcoplt would be happier if they werr I less sensitive Being a “Southern WASP" I don’t mind being called one The Damyankees I know don’t mind being called that either Back to STOOP 1 am preparing a list of prohibited words which we w ill not tolerate So far they include: Codger Coot Crock Fogey Gaffer Geezer Goat and Gramps — and on the distaff side Bag Bat Biddie Broad Heifer Hen and Little Woman This is a preliminary list and your suggested additions would be welcome — sent if necessary anonymously in a plain brown envelope Personally I don’t mind if we are referred to as mature seniors elderly or aged if indeed we are — and not just late middle-age- d The term I really detest is ‘‘Golden Ager" By living many years we at least have canted the right not to be patronized Somebody gave me a pillow embroidered with the words (approximately) “Eschew the Golden Years" I’m sitting on it as I write this Etfwon Allan ii a femar Joumahat tonrm PchJMl m two wVveiihes ard a tomar eracjNa sip Yon Pttrtv'jh retrwnwl beae is AEanta vtfi fetal-nea- M s |