This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Heritage Council on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Maple Canyon one of the Best “Corners of the World”

There are now almost 300 rock climbing routes in the canyon, ranging from 20 to 400 feet long and designed to please people of all ages and skill levels. “There are routes for children and beginners all the way to some of the hardest routes in the entire world.”

The canyon was virtually unknown until 1994. “The only people who used it were locals,” Stevens says, adding he and a group of friends discovered it while still in high school. At first, they didn’t think it was an ideal climbing spot. “To the uneducated eye, it doesn’t look like a good place to climb because the rock looks really soft and unsafe. But one day we tried it out and realized that the rock was much harder than we ever imagined and know that the potential for the place was limitless, it was phenomenal.”

Soon, with help from Stevens and supporter Virgil Ash, word of the canyon’s treasures began to trickle out into the rock climbing community, and the canyon was featured in some sporting goods advertisements. Within two years there were more than 100 rock climbing routes developed in the canyon. Now, people travel from all over the world to visit the canyon. The routes have been developed in the canyon (much of which is privately owned) through the Access Fund, a national fund that allows rock climbers and private owners to agree on terms for access, Stevens says.

Getting used to sharing his canyon also required some adjustment on Stevens part. He took up rock climbing as a youth. His father and uncles were professional industrial painters, and had harnesses, ropes and other gears to allow them to work on enormous buildings. “On the weekends, I would go out with my dad and brothers and put the equipment to good use. Rock climbing has always been my passion, so the canyon’s growing popularity is a mixed blessing,” Stevens says. “When you are from a rural area, you have a tendency to believe that this spot if my corner of the world,” he says with a laugh. “You tell yourself: I grew up here so I have and inherited right to have the place to myself. So even though I am the author of the guidebook, and the region and canyon have benefited from people knowing about it, some days its hard. Sometimes I want to go over and climb and not see anyone. That is a hard thing when your little corner of the world is one of the best corners of the world for a lot of people.”

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Heritage Council on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Monroe Jewelry Maker has International Flare

From the basement of her home in the tiny town of Monroe, Utah, Sallee Kesler offers her customers the world.

Kesler is a self-taught maker of fine jewelry. And the materials she uses to design her custom-made, one-of-a-kind pieces — coral, jade, gold, and silver, to name a few — come from places like Bali, Indonesia, Thailand, Africa and Hong Kong.

“I also use a lot of materials that are made by other people, like hand-carved gemstones. I even found one man in Tahoe who does fossil carvings in Ivory and I incorporate his work into my pieces,” she says.

“I have made pendants from pieces of pottery, from materials left over from the Ming Dynasty, from African beads that are 200 to 300 years old, and I even have some beads from Persia that are 400 years old that I am mixing into some pieces. I always look for the unusual. I check out all of the antique stores that I see and I hit the estate sales.”

But finding those unusual items — and enough of them — to use in her designs requires a lot of patience. “Once I found a few Russian bears made of beautiful stones, but I didn’t have enough to do anything with them. It took me three years before I finally accumulated eight of them, enough to do a necklace and some earrings. Another time, I wanted to do something from some beads from Bali that had inlaid carvings, and it took me four years to accumulate enough to do a necklace. I ended up bartering that necklace away for marble tile for floors in my house, but now I have really beautiful marble tile,” she says with a laugh. “I do a lot of bartering in this business.”

Kesler says that she has always been interested in jewelry design. “I’ve been making jewelry since junior high school.” But she started her career as an artist designing quilt patterns and making quilts and dolls. She switched back to jewelry when quilt-making became a big import-business. “Nowadays, you can go into a discount store and buy a quilt made in China for $50, and I can’t even get the material for that,” she says. “So I gave decided to make jewelry again and started experimenting.”

Kesler gets some assistance from her husband, Vaughn. “He is better than I am at wrapping wires and working with clasps because his hands are stronger than mine. He was an electrician in the military, so he knows how to do a lot of things to help me, like tie knots so things don’t fall off,” she says with a laugh.

Currently, Kesler shows her jewelry at her home by appointment only, and attends a few special jewelry shows a year throughout the Southwestern United States. “Most people who come to me have heard of what I do and have something special in mind. They may have a necklace from their granny they want modernized, or are looking for a special piece.”

“I love having customers come by to see what I do, and I love designing for people and I love making jewelry.” Kesler’s future plans include developing a web page to help her market her jewelry to a wider audience. “I would like to sell more of my jewelry and be free to continue living in rural Utah, enjoying the beauty of this wonderful place.”

For more information, contact:

Sallee Kesler
285 S 100 West
Monroe, UT 84754
(435) 527-1880 (phone)
jade28585@msn.com (email)

OR:
Contact: Monte Bona
Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council
(435) 462-2502

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Heritage Council on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Trip to ostrich farm part of ‘Week in Sanpete’

The birds can live in captivity for up to 70 to 80 years, with females growing about five to six feet in height and the males seven to nine feet. “Baby ostriches look just like little chickens,” Karma Riddle says. “They grow really quickly and are very cute.” The Riddle farm typically has baby ostriches around from May to October, and while the young ones are undoubtedly the biggest hits on the farm, they are also the most difficult aspect of ostrich farming. “The infant mortality rate is very high,” Karma Riddle says. “Up to 50 percent of the babies die from one thing or another. Enough isn’t known about their infant diseases to know what to give them…but if I can get them past two weeks, I usually can keep them alive.”

And while farming ostriches is becoming more common in Utah, most of the demand for ostrich meat comes from outside the state, especially in the Eastern United States. “It is very healthy meat,” Karma Riddle says, adding it is cholesterol-free and up to 98 percent fat-free. “It looks and taste a lot like beef,” she says.

AN AMERICAN 4TH

A patriotic video story of life in small town America on the 4th of July. The town featured….MORONI, UTAH.

A story about freedom and a perfect gift for all seasons!!!!

TO ORDER A COPY OF THE VIDEO CONTACT THE MORONI CITY HALL
(435) 436-8359

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Piute County Courthouse Restoration Fund

Sunday May 12, 2002

HISTORIC COURTHOUSE ROOF CAVES IN

The old Piute County Courthouse roof collapses under weight of roofing materials.

For the Reber family, owning a piece of history was a dream come true. When the old Piute County Courthouse in Junction, Utah went up for sale in early Fall of 2000, they were thrilled to be in a position to buy. Over the months they carefully set about restoring the stately red brick building. To protect the ornate and antique interior, a decision was made to re-roof the structure. That’s when the roof came crashing in.

On April 11, 2002, a local supply company delivered materials to the courthouse roof. Unfortunately, the structure was unable to withstand the weight of the supplies and within moments the roof caved in over the courtroom. Plaster, shingles, rafters and nearly 100 years worth of history came down in a thunderous crash that destroyed not only priceless architectural details but also a portion of the roof, walls, floors and staircase.

The owners, Jim and John Reber, a father and son, saw themselves as more than owners of a unique old building. They believed they were, and remain stewards of the past in a place where the past is important. Junction is a seemingly sleepy town but that facade hides a population that not only lives off of the land, but thrives on the hard work needed to turn fields into hay and cattle into milk and meat. With a population of only about 150 people, Junction is a close knit and family oriented community.

With plans for historic reenactments, and educational programs for local school children, the Reber men had felt that the future looked bright for the old building. Now they bleakly wonder how they will manage to protect it from destruction.

Both men are from Las Vegas, Nevada but stumbled across the tiny town of Junction and fell in love. Jim bought a farmhouse there and spent his retirement enjoying the fresh country air. Soon the family was spending as much time in Junction as they were in the big city. When the courthouse came up for sale, John jumped at the opportunity to own a piece of Piute County history and talked his father into joining him.

Built of local adobe brick, the courthouse is on the Registry of Historic Places. Within its walls the history of Piute County has been decided and decreed. Future statesmen have argued their first cases before the curved judge’s bench and local disputes have caused crowds to gather there. Now its future is up in the air.

Restoration experts have estimated the cost of repair in the neighborhood of $250,000. Though legal action is being taken to attempt to collect insurance benefits, the courthouse can’t wait. The roof must be closed in so that the weather won’t further harm the interior. The remaining roof and walls must be braced to prevent any more destruction. Attorneys say that it may be eighteen months before a legal decision is rendered and money made available. The courthouse can’t wait.

Local historical societies just don’t have the kind of grant money necessary to correct a problem of this magnitude. The Piute County Courthouse Restoration Fund has been established as a way to gather money so that the courthouse won’t have to wait. $250,000 is a lot of money but the history of Utah that is contained within this old red brick building is worth it.

To read more about the Piute County Courthouse, view photographs, and contribute funds, visit http://www.saltpress.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPRING CITY’S ANNUAL HERITAGE DAY TOUR OF HISTORIC HOMES, ART & ANTIQUES SH0W, WAGON RIDES

Saturday May 25, 2002

This year Spring City’s Annual Heritage Day will be held on Saturday May 25, 2002. Sponsored by the Friends of Historic Spring City and the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, the day will include a tour of historic homes, an art and antiques show at the old Spring City school, and horse drawn wagon rides around town. Due to its large concentration of historic houses, barns, log cabins and outbuildings built by English and Scandinavian pioneers, the entire town of Spring City is designated as a National Register Historic District.

Tickets for the home tour cost $10 for adults and $5 for children. At least a dozen historic homes will be on the tour including the Charles L. Crawforth farmstead featured in Renovation Style and Utah Home and Gardens magazines. Funds generated by ticket sales for this event help with various community restoration projects and provide college scholarships for local students.

The art and antiques show will be held at the old school. The paintings of Spring City artists Ella Peacock and Max Blain will be exhibited along with the work of current Spring City artists: Osral Allred, Lee Bennion, Linda Budd, Susan Gallacher, Randall Lake, M’Lisa Paulsen and Michael Workman among other local artists. Antiques and handcrafted furnishings will also be on display as well as Joe Bennion’s pottery, handmade quilts and the Jeff Allred historic saddle collection. Celtic music will be performed by “FiddleSticks” during lunch at the city bowery.

Schedule:

• 7 – 9:30 AM Breakfast at the city bowery next to the old school
• 9 -11 AM D.U.P. bake sale at the old school
• 10 AM – 4 PM Home tour, tickets on sale at the old firehouse on Main St.
• 10 AM – 4 PM Art & Antiques Show as the old school
• 12 – 1:30 PM Lunch at the city bowery next to the old school & Celtic music performed by “FiddleSticks”

For more information contact:
Roger Roper at 801-533-3561 or Lee Bennion at 435-462-2708

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JOHN D. LEE TOPIC OF LAST
‘FAMOUS AND INFAMOUS’ LECTURE APRIL 25

John D. Lee is the topic of the final talk in the “Famous and Infamous Along Utah’ s Highway 89” lecture series, which will be presented by Weber State University Professor Gene Sessions April 25 in Panguitch.

The talk- will be at 7 p.m. at Panguitch High School, 3 90 E. 100 South, and is the last talk of a lecture series that highlighted people and events that took place along the Heritage Highway.

“John D. Lee was a great contributor to the colonization of Utah,” says Monte Bona, a member of the Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance and Sanpete County Heritage Council. “But his contributions are often overlooked by the controversy surrounding the Mountain Meadows Massacre.”

Lee was a Mormon leader and one of the key founders of the southern portion of Utah, but he was the only person tried and executed for his role in the Mountains Meadow Massacre. He is buried in Panguitch

For more information, call (435) 462-2502.

Brigham Young University film scholar Jim D’Arc will give a talk on “The Famous and Infamous Along Utah’s Highway 89 as Depicted by Hollywood” April 23 at Kanab High School.

The speech is part of an ongoing lecture series highlighting people and events that took place along the Heritage Highway.

“It is very appropriate that the talk is being held in Kanab, as that city is often described as ‘Little Hollywood’ because so many movies are made there, “said Monte Bona, a member of the Heritage Highway 89 Alliance and Sanpete County Heritage Council. The speech begins at 7 pm at the high school, located at 59 East Red Shadow Lane. The talks, which are sponsored in part by the Utah Humanities Council are free and open to the public.

D’Arc’s talk will be a continuation of a presentation he gave in Kanab in January that was part of statehood day and focused on the importance of the film industry in Kanab. The upcoming speech will look at movies filmed in Kanab, such as The Lone Ranger and Calamity Jane. and how those characters were depicted on film.

For more information on the talk, contact the Sanpete County Heritage Council at (435) 462-2502.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BUTCH CASSIDY: HISTORY VS. HOLLYWOOD
SUBJECT OF LECTURE

How much of what we know about Butch Cassidy is fact and how much is fiction, driven by Hollywood movies and legends? That question will be explored at an April 18 lecture at the Piute Court House in Junction. It is part of a lecture series highlighting “The Famous and Infamous” of Utah’s U.S. Highway 89.

Speaker Paul Turner will look at the life of Butch Cassidy, who was born Robert LeRoy Parker in Beaver and grew up in a log cabin near Circleville. Turner, a storyteller, will talk about the history and legend of Butch Cassidy. A second lecture on Butch Cassidy will be held in June in Wayne County, exploring the connection between Cassidy and Robber’s Roost

In addition, at the April 18 lecture there will be a secondary discussion on Utahan Hyrum BeBee and whether he was The Sundance Kid.

All of the lectures in the series, which will be held throughout cities and towns along the Heritage Highway U.S. 89, are free and open to the public and are funded in part by the Utah Council for the Humanities. They are also being filmed and will later be included in a documentary that will air on PBS and be distributed to the media during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Other upcoming talks include:

— April 23: “Famous and Infamous Along Highway 89 as depicted by Hollywood,” Jim D’Arc, Kanab.

— April 25: “John D. Lee,” featuring Weber State University Professor Gene Sessions, Panguich High School.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HISTORICAL LECTURE SERIES PLANNED ALONG U.S. HIGHWAY 89

The Utah Humanities Council has awarded the Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance a grant for a special lecture series that will celebrate the history of the six counties along the historic U.S. 89 highway.

Entitled “The Famous and Infamous along Highway 89,” the lecture series will begin in the new year and include sessions in Sanpete, Sevier, Piute, Kane, Wayne and Garfield counties. In addition, the lectures will be filmed by KBYU-Channel 11 and portions will be broadcast as public service announcements. All six lectures win later be edited into a special documentary used to promote the Heritage Highway.The Sanpete County Heritage Council and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance will be seeking other grants to compliment the $3,500 grant from the Utah Humanities Council to support the lecture series.

The series is still in the planning, stages, but proposed topics for each county are:
Sanpete County: Avard Fairbanks
Sevier County: Chief Walker and Black Hawk.
Piute and Kane counties: Butch Cassidy
Garfield County: John D. Lee
Wayne County: Little Hollywood

For more information on the lecture series, contact the Sanpete County Heritage Council, (435) 462-2502.