OCR Text |
Show Iron County Fair Otto Fife honored as Grand Marshall Otto Fife, Cedar City native, and recognized with an honorary degree at Southern Utah State College this spring, will serve as Grand Marshall of the 1978 Iron County Fair to be held in Parowan on Monday September 4. Otto is presently the recognized master of the Zion Narrows, which he has hiked 58 times, the last time in his 77th year. It was in the summer of 1925 that Otto made his first hike through the 27-mile chasm. Otto once operated a store and restaurant in Beryl, and he still holds valid mining claims in the Three-Peaks Three-Peaks area where he and his brothers mined lead and zinc until caught in the dilemma of fluctuating ore prices. While working in California, Otto served as a tour guide for Tanner Motor Tours and made many trips to Death Valley where he became acquainted with the famous "Death Valley Scotty," who hired him as a full-time guide to the Death Valley Resort in 1933-44. Here he listened to the thousands of fabricated tales convincingly spun by Death Valley Scotty. Under Scotty's influence, Otto became a master story-teller himself. Otto served as Iron County Sheriff for 8 years and retired in 1968. This retirement lasted two weeks, when Otto accepted a position with the United States Postal Service in a rural route which takes him into Zion Canyon where he still hikes the colorful sandstone formations there. He has worked with various youth and civic groups, including the Boy Scouts of America who honored him with the coveted Silver Beaver Award in 1975. At an age when most other men retire from activity, Otto is still an enthusiastic en-thusiastic hiker and mountain climber. He especially spellbinds youth groups with his "true" stories of the great southwest. Garth Jones, chairman of the parade indicated that those who have not announced their intention to enter the parade should contact him at the Cedar City Chamber of Commerce office for details and number assignment. The parade will be held at 10 a.m. on Parowan's Main Street and is one of the annual highlights of the Iron County Fair. ,.!".! -'Si!---' .v 4 OTTO FIFE |