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Show UINTAH BASIN STANDARD. October 29. 1986 50 . . ' years ago Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt of s history fifty years prepend in 1936-3ago, by the fourth grade teachers and students of the various schools in Duchesne County. Anns Stark, the Primary Supervisor of the School District, wrote the foreword to the history, Rachel Brown and Minnie Hardman edited the material. This information was .found by Jean Eldredge and is edited further by the Duchesne County Historical Society members. Altonah The Altonah Bench land was originally an Indian Reservation. In the winter of 1906 white settlers moved to this section, coming from Vernal, Castlegate, and Price, and parts of Colorado. They encountered many hardships having to go to Duchesne, the nearest town, for supplies. Sometimes they were snowbound and ate only potatoes. At other times, their only food was white hairs (rabbits) which they snared. They had to combat bears, lions, and coyotes. The first homes were boarded tents. Lumber homes were built of cheap slabs. They had only one tiny window, and the floors were dirt A few log houses were eventually built. Wagons and sleighs were used for travel. For lighting they used what was called bkhes, made by wrapping rags around a button and saturating it in oil. A petition was granted for a Post Office and mail was carried three times a week on horse-bacfrom Roosevelt. This first Poet Office was named Alexander and was situated in Clay Basin but was moved to Altonah in 1916. At this time the name was given to Altonah meaning "High-up- . The people petitioned two commissioners to establish the Alexander School District. The first school house was a cabin 10x12 feet, a homestead house of Mr. Petteys. There were thirteen students who skiied to school The second school was in Powells cabin near Clay Basin. The third school was at Bluebell. In 1911, forty acres was donated Jo the district and in 1920 a newer school building was . reasonable sum, affording an opportunity for anyone wishing to get established. Altonah had two general merchandise stores, one hardware store, two blacksmith and completed. Dancing was the chief entertainment, the music being an organ and a harmonica. Amateur Dramatics, also helped to. amuse the people. Indians invited the white settlers to their Bear Dances and barbecues. . . A Commercial Club was or--' ganized about 1920. A printing press was established by Cook and Harold Dubendorff, who published "The Inter-Mounta- in News." By 1917, Altonah had reached a population of three hundred. It was then one of the newest towns of the Uintah Basin, being but five years old. The town was plotted and the lots sold by J.M. Millard. These lots were solid for a plow-furro- vicinity produce an annual 1,500,000 feet of pinelumber, which supplied the whole Uintah Basin. In this forest was enough grazing land to feed 12,600 head of sheep and 3,500 head of cattle. This was the greatest cattle and sheep range in Duchesne County. The supply of water power was unestimable. The Lakeford and Yellowstone Rivers with their streams have a tre-- . mendous fall per mile. The water supply of these streams comes from the peaks of ML Emmons . and Kings Peak with altitudes of 13,428 and 13,498 feet The Calder Brothers cheese Factory was established in 1934. It was the main resource in Altonah. It's output was from seven hundred to fifteen hundred pounds of cheese each day. It was transported to Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. the Federal Government, The media is speaking out more and more each week about increased hunger in Utah, high w paying jobs being lost for the Federal Government, our congressman says "he is pleased about general trends and he will aggressively continue his efforts to tackle some of the pressing problems facing the 3rd district The 3rd district's' per capita income is only 54 percent of the national average, bankruptcies are up 33 percent last year, home foreclosures are up, unemployment has neared 20 percent in some of our counties yet, Howard cities his efforts to provide this district with the best representation possible. The textile mills are gone, the uranium industry is history, the coal mining hopes are black and the steelworkers are looking for work while Howard cites the "possibility of protectionist legislation leading to a severe depression." In Utah valley, our home values are dropping like a rock, people are working two or three wage jobs to survive and businesss are failing . minimum wages, as well as our children leaving the state to find decent paying work and Howard tells us "about the policies that he has supported that have led us to a brighter future." Seventy five percent of Provo households make less than $15,000 a year while the Provo-Oremetro area is the 4th lowest per capita income in the United States and Howard says "he has conducted opinion surveys and has tracked the concerns of his constituents." , m near-minimu- m The 3rd congressional district is so low that it is only 423rd out of the 436 congressional districts in America in total receipts of . homes. The first permanent settlers to come to what is now called Bluebell were Elmer Gale, wife old son Ddiah and two-yea- r Jessie. They 'moved from Jensen, in a covered wagon drawn by a . Although the management may have changed, the name and the service at the Duchesne Valley Medical Center remains the same. The change in the clinics management a few months ago may have left Duchesne Countys westside residents questioning just how medical services at the Duchesne Clinic would be affected. The answer is they won't. For the past year the clinic had been managed by the Roosevelt based Progressive Health Services (PITS). However, about two months ago the clinic's management was turned over to the Duchesne County Hospital (I)CH) when financial difficulties forced PHS to cancel their lease and management contract with IICH. I've proposed three major plans about marketing our 3rd district goods and services, education and the national debt that make sense and would get us while Congressman has proposed nothing but promises to "continue his determined effort to learn how the people want him to vote. Ask yourself.. .are you better off than you were four years ago or even a year ago? How about your kids, your parents, or the neighbors and their jobs.. .Are they better off too? We're already in a depression voters! If you don't do something about it and help me get moving again, we won't wake up one morning and find it There are no magic beans, no Jack and the Bean Stalk or the golden goose in the 3rd district... We are in trouble... And it's getting worse! The bottom line is...Howard Nielson just does not know what to do...I do! Together...we need to do it now! moving Nielson r. Get Out and Vote! On Wednesdays Obstetricians, Dr. Gary Wold and Dr. Keith Evans see patients. In addition, Britton Baid arrangements are in the works to bring in Vernal Podiatrist, Dr. Daryl Phillips on a regular basis. Britton is a native of Wen-dove- r, and moved to Duchesne from Salt Lake City last May to join the clinic's staff. He is a graduate of the University of OB-GY- Utah's Physicians Assistant Program. Britton lives in Duchesne with his wife, Tracy and old daughter, their five-yea-r Cheryl , t The clinic is now under the guidance of the hospital, but everything is the same as far as service and doctor's schedules are concerned, said Cory Britton, Physicians Assistant at the clinic. Pediatricians, Dr. John Rosenfeld and Dr. Teresa Stewart rotate weeks at the clinic every Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Tuesday Internist, Dr. Ace Madsen, is in from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. full-tim- e As a P.A. Britton is on call a day, seven days a week. Britton and his staff which consists of receptionist Merilee RNs Linda Burdick, part-tim- e Swenson, Juanita Thacker and FMT Charlotte White, see about 20 patients a day. As a P.A. Britton is qualified to give "primary care to patients procedures such as sewing up wounds, minor surgery and treating common illnesses. "In an situation I refer emergency patients to DCH," he said. "Non emergency matters are referred to the appropriate specialist for the day of his or her rs ' -- REPUBLICAN PARTY CANDIDATE FOR UINTAH COUNTY SHERIFF DREW CHRISTIANSEN A Sharper Sheriff with Finer Points' visit." Uintah County Needs Robert Showalter 1 . He is a native son of Uintah County. High School. 2. He is a graduate of Uintah 3. Also a graduate of Utah State 4. Successful Operator of University. a Large Livestock Enterprise. Vote Robert Showalter he does not need the ob, he needs the opportunity to serve you. Paid PoMcal Advsrtisi Mr. Nielson cites his "watchdog of the treasury award and his theme, Extend the Excellence." while Duchesne Clinic now part of local hospital Vote For: State Senate our balance of payments deficit with . to be continued Bluebell Effective Representation Hard Work Legislative Reports to paper. Radio, etc. to Inform the public Control of State Government Growth Innovative Self Help Programs Tax Reform to Encourage Economic Diversification Support for Education Development for Rural Utah Open Poor Policy Experience federal payments and benefits. While we have our very own balance of payments deficit with The 3rd district, the economy and many of our neighbors scream for help every day and Mr. Nielson tells us "we are experiencing less unemployment, increased productivity and job expansion." enemies. When the Federal Government opened the Uintah Indian Reservation to white settlers there was a wild rush into this section. Homesteaders came from different parts of the Country to find span of horses, arriving here on March 4, 1907. During the winter of 1908 and 1909 that there were only five persons who wintered on the Bluebell flat, and they were Mr. Gale, his wife and child, Henry C. Wathen and Ray Theming. These pioneers of Bluebell were impressed with the grandeur of ' the blooming bluebells "'Waving their heads among the sagebrush and cedar grass during the months of May and June. This impression was so vivid that when they wanted to name the place, Heber Powell suggested that it should be named Bluebell and all agreed: These first settlers, like all pioneers, had many difficulties to surmount There was the cleaning of the land, plowing and preparing it for crops. But no doubt the most difficult of all was getting the water from the Lake by Dale Gardiner Democrat for District 3 one-ha- lf National Forest, to the north of Altonah, includes 200,000 acres of the finest timber land in the State of Utah. The six sawmills in the tributary i st m Page 25 DemocratGardiner talks out on Nielson , ma-chi- shops, two spacious amusement halls, and eight-roohotel with livery stable, shoe arid harness repair shop, butcher shop, confectionry, and a thriving paper. At this time, it also boasted the second largest school population in Duchesne County. District No. 7 of the Ashley k . . Fork River. This required a great effort and took a long time to dig the ditch. It was a full two years ' before any irrigation water reached Bluebell. The historical facts of this story are told by John Theming, the present secretary of the Farmer's Irrigation Ditch: "Four or five miles west of Altonah, Dry Gulch, No. 11' is taken out of Lake Fork River. This ditch is devided into classes and Class B comes out of it five of and one-h- a If miles north-weBluebell craning down to mile straight west of Bluebell, then continuing one mile farther south to what is now Wilford Woodruffs place. "Class B was just a plow furrow in 1908, when water first came through it and there was hardly enough water to reach to the end of the ditch for culinary ditch purposes. This had been made under the direction of Heber Powell assisted by Henry Allred. "In 1910, the Farmers Irrigation Company organized the water for what was then known as Alexander. It was located between the present towns of Altonah and Bluebell. The water that is used in Bluebell is obtained from the Yellowstone river, a branch of the Lake Fort They also obtained some from the Payne Canal and the Class B Canal of Dry Gulch. Like other settlements in America, Bluebell has its Indian stories but at this late date these stories all show the friendliness of the Indians rather than as Paid Political Advortisomont |