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Show i WASATCH MOUNTAIN APPAPGORT APPIN: TIMES Rockwell: Well dang it, Brigham. don’t know how to keep them boys righteous without really hurtin’ ‘em. Brigham comments unknown Rockwell: You mean my sidekick, Sammy Park? Hasn’t had a drink for nearly six months. He’s outside holdin’ the ponies as we speak. Why do you ask? Sin City was Not Always Spelled Brigham By 1.B. Rappaport though the place is located a scant 30 miles from Temple Square. There was drinking, gambling and whoring, just for starters. Word quickly spread to Salt Lake City that all this sinning was taking place every weekend when miners drew their hard-earned pay. So, to fill a need, the railroad soon opened a spur that ran from downtown Salt Lake City to the bottom of Main Street in Park City. The service ran every weekend. Now, here’s the interesting part All this sinning in Park City, that is to say in Brigham City, was of great worry to Brigham Young. And frankly, it was quite embarrassing, as well. Brigham didn’t like it when he overheard young men saying they were going to Brigham to get drunk and carry on. So Brigham Young, being the intelligent man he was, called in his chief public relations advisor, Orrin Porter Rockwell. The Mormon leader depended on Rockwell to fix things that were, to put it in a polite way, difficult to fix. What the Mormon leader said to Rockwell is still not known. But partial records recovered by Mark thatUtah Hoffman reveal Rockwell's the conversation. Most people know that over a hundred years ago Park City was a mining boomtown, where all sorts of wild goings-on went on — even seems to have escaped most historians: Park City was not side of always called Park City. Nope. In fact, it was originally named Brigham City, after the Mormon leader and Rockwell: Pll blow up the rail line. That will keep them sinners away. prophet unknown Rockwell: Allright then, we'll hold up the train in Parleys Canyon and steal their pants ‘till Sunday Young. This is absolutely the truth. [, Irving Berlin Rappaport, researched it myself with the help of Utah historian Mark Hoffman. He has the corroborating documents in rare letters he has found. Young: comments unknown Rockwell: Why would Sammy want to live in Brigham City with all them sinners? Hell — oops, I mean heck — he'd be off the wagon and ‘P-A-R-K! Brigham Young: Brigham Young: comments morning. Brigham unknown Young: comments carrying on in no time. comments Brigham Young: unknown Rockwell: I dont know, Brigham, Sammy’s not much for pol- itics. Young: comments Brigham unknown Rockwell: Mayor? Sammy Park mayor of Brigham City? comments Brigham Young: unknown Rockwell: Your joking, right?. Name Brigham City after Sammy Park? .. . Brigham? .. . You want to name it Park City? Nah! And that folks is the real honest truth about how Park City got its name. But I know what you’re thinking: if Park City was Brigham City, then what was the original name of the town in northern Utah that is now called Brigham City? I have just received heretofore undiscovered documents from Hoffman’s private library that describe an identical location as a place called Parkvale. Isn’t that something? @ Used to Be a Funny Thing About Park City Continued from page 7 tim and drove like hell to Salt for help. The old buildings did with some frequency in those and a bit of history died, but the ple never did. What Happened in the ‘80s _ What happened in the ‘80s can best be described as a renaissance, amid those renegades. Everything got attention. The parks, the library, the streets, the schools, the water system, the Cranes Continued from page 11 plumage, red head cap and 36 inch dance antics, which build up to the stature, unforgettable. The two birds circle each other in formal step, with stiff legs and head and neck held high. Then begins head bobbing in which the head is held horizontally and the neck curved down in a U., Momentum increases until suddenly both birds leap into the air and there is not a more elegant sight than a tall stately crane walking in a deliberate gait across a marsh. His legs are long and his toes are unwebbed, both indicative of a walking rather than flying or swimming lifestyle. His wings are rounded, with long inner secondary feathers (those of the inner wing or “forearm”), which extend beyond the end of his tail when folded, giving the impression of a long tail. andhills are best known for their Sie courtships. Males and females — indistinguishable from one another — pair for life and maintain their pair bond with courtship dances. The wild courtship fervor follow of a this tribal by war dance, dancing. are Another beautiful display involving a pair of Sandhills is the duet. The birds circle each other, crop their wings, throw back their heads and call in unison, Cranes have been around since lower Eocene, with 21 extinct fossil species, plus the 14 species that are PAGE still living today. Many species are now restricted in range and are few in number. Cranes are found on every continent except South America, but many species have small populations and some are on the verge of extinction. Hunting, modern agricultural methods, and marsh draining have greatly reduced their numbers. Sandhills were once a common migrant in the marshes and prairies of the midwest, particularly the Sandhills of Nebraska for which the bird was named. People living there now seldom hear the wild call of the Sandhill Crane in flight — a vibrant, triumphant-sounding whoop that can be heard long after the great bird disappears into the clouds. @ 14 fire codes, the bus sys- tem, even the business attitude. The signs that once sprouted in May — “Gone Fishing Til July” — disappeared. The raw beauty of the town was sanded and painted and given brass knobs. Vacant lots became mini-parks, yards sprouted gardens — once folks admitted they were staying at least through next winter — and artists started selling their work to the tourists, who were ing in increasing numbers visityear ‘round. The tempting part now would be to say I miss the old days and I want them back. But what if I got my wish? What if my children were forever five and seven and not the college graduates whose company I now enjoy? What if all those old historic buildings kept burning and the water came out of the tap in uncertain colors and volumes and the emergency help was all volunteer? Collectively, we get to feel great about the very best town we worked to create. But I just wonder if, in the process of becoming respectable, we became a bit stuffy. A bit too regulated. A bit too refined. Dignified. Hell, just plain dull. What is the measure of our success? Winning the Olympic bid, having our good Sandhill Lake burn days peo- water system, restoring our historic buildings, creating top schools, a free bus system, million dollar snow-making? Those are all successes to be certain. But when I listen to a city council meeting, or a school board meeting or a cocktail conversation between developers, it seems we don’t have much fun anymore. Success, I think, would be to have all the bounty we have and stilk be able to laugh at ourselves and with each other. So, before we get too set in our ways, I suggest we do something drastic and outrageous. Often. Take a loaded squirt gun to work, put bubble bath in a fountain, tie ribbons on a piece of public art, hold a block party, play the music too loud, dance on a table, paint your pet’s toenails, tickle your kids or your mate, smuggle a bottle of wine into the movies and share it with strangers. The only thing I want to bring back from the good old days is to laugh. Often. @ |