An Oral History with Lydia Skewes, September 18, 1980

Lydia Skewes, born in Moab in 1885, provides a detailed account of her long life, highlighting her family's early arrival in Moab as one of the first married couples. She describes her childhood on a ranch, riding horses to a two-room schoolhouse in Moab, and her experiences with the initial attempts to establish Valley City, including the dam's failure and the eventual departure of most settlers, with Howard Balsley being a notable exception. Skewes also shares memories of her husband's copper mining ventures at Big Indian, the community's shift from cattle to sheep ranching, and a range war near Cisco. Her narrative touches upon the arrival of the first automobile in Moab in 1910, early teaching methods, and family history, including her sister's role as school superintendent and her brother's career as a musician in Sacramento.