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Show Observatory Groundbreakingslated Ground breaking ceremonies for the Theron M. Ashcroft Observatory will be held Monday at 2 p.m. at the observatory site five miles west of of Cedar City. The public is invited to attend the ceremony according ac-cording to Clayton Frehner, chairman of the observatory committee. "When completed next year the observatory will be used by SUSC astronomy classes and church groups, and any other sothern Utah residents who are interested in astronomy," Frehner said. To reach the site, go west on the Lund Highway to the Hamilton Fort Road (the road to the SUSC Valley Farm), then proceed south for one and one-half miles. At the point where the main road turns west, take the small dirt road leading south and follow it approximately 1,500 feet to the observatory site. Mr. Ashcroft, the physics and engineering professor who taught at SUSC for 34 years between 1939 and 1972, will be the honored guest at the ground breaking. Ashcroft Ash-croft was instrumental in developing the astronomy program at the college. The completed facility will include a domed observatory, ob-servatory, dark room facilities, and a classroom lecture area to accomodate about 30 people. "The project is being completely funded through donations, from the facility location to actual building construction," Frehner said. Land for the observatory was donated by Arthur Armburst, a Wheaton, 111. businessman. The road into the site was constructed as a donation the Cedar City Corporation, architectural work is being donated by Raymond Gardner, Cedar City architect, and construction con-struction will be handled by SUSC building construction classes under the direction of Professor Lyman Mun-ford. Mun-ford. Help has also been pledged by the Southern Utah Chapter, National Home Builders Association. "The cooperative spirit of the many peiple involved in this project brings to mind another project in the history of SUSC, that was the building of Old Main. We are very pleased that this structure is being made to honor one of SUSC's finest professors and to further astronomical studies," Frehner said. |