A History of Uintah County

Twentieth century events

Hard Times, War Times, and Good Times TWENTIETH CENTURY EVENTS \J intah County was drawn into world events when the United States entered World War I on 2 April 1917. Three hundred eighteen young men from Uintah County served in this war, with fifteen giv­ing their lives. County residents made many sacrifices for the war, including rationing and cutbacks, but also benefited from the con­flict as the war period brought boom times to American industry and to Uintah County. The war ended on 11 November 1918. The worldwide influenza epidemic that occurred shortly after the war also had an impact on Uintah County, as will be discussed else­where in this book. Especially troubled economic times began in October 1929 when stock values plunged dramatically and the Great Depression began. As the troubles deepened, banks, factories, and stores closed across the country, leaving millions of Americans pen­niless and jobless. At the beginning of the Depression, Vernal seemed to prosper. After forty-two years of service to residents of Uintah County, the Ashley Co-operative underwent a complete remodeling, with a store addition as well as new equipment. The sheep industry brought in 174 TWENTIETH CENTURY EVENTS 175 more than one million dollars in the sale of wool and lambs in 1930, and nearly a quarter-million fish were planted in streams of the Uintas. However, Uintah County was affected as time went on, and Utah became one of the states hardest hit by the Depression. President Herbert Hoover tried to stop the Depression and planned public works programs to alleviate unemployment; however, most Americans felt he was not doing enough to bolster the economy. His plans were never realized as voters insisted on a change and elected Franklin D. Roosevelt to the presidency by a landslide in 1932. Uintah County voted Democratic for the first time in years, supporting Roosevelt with 1,791 votes as compared with Hoover's 1,356. In 1936 Uintah County again supported President Roosevelt with 1,595 votes to Alf Landon's 1,088. In 1940 the vote was closer in Uintah County, but Roosevelt won with 1,761 votes to Wendell Wilkie's 1,615. Since 1940 Uintah County has remained predominantly Republican. President Roosevelt was convinced it was the government's oblig­ation to help end the Depression, and he called upon Congress to enact laws to reach this goal. The program which evolved from these efforts was called the New Deal. The New Deal legislation had three main purposes: (1) to provide relief for the needy, (2) to create jobs and encourage business expansion, and (3) to reform business and government practices to prevent further depression. The year 1932 was a trying one for the nation, including resi­dents of Uintah County, who were beginning to feel the effects of the Depression. The county also experienced a hard winter in 1932-33 and livestock were suffering. Jensen had the coldest night in history in February 1933 when the weather plummeted to 44 degrees below zero. The cattle near the Green River were fed cottonwood trees and with a little grain wintered nicely. Some cattlemen in the valley had hay and straw for their stock. Watering the cattle through the ice was a problem as there was a danger of animals falling through. A serious mistake had been made by sheepmen in previous years when young stock were sold in an attempt to clear debts. Young sheep could have withstood the cold winter better than weaker old sheep. Many sheep had been moved into the county from other areas and the available winter range was overcrowded. This hard winter was followed by a drought. Crops were parched 176 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY in Ashley Valley in 1934 and the Green River flow dropped to its low­est mark in thirty-one years. Over $12,000 was given by the state drought committee for an emergency crop project on Green River Bottoms. In 1934 Uintah County was designated as an emergency drought county and was eligible to sell cattle under provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, which helped regulate farm production.1 All cattle purchased under this plan were destroyed on the ranch if condemned or shipped to market and canned for use by needy individuals. During the month of July more than 50,000 quarts of meat were canned in various communities in Uintah County. By September, 7,637 head of cattle had been purchased-3,812 of these were condemned and the rest were hauled by truck to the stockyards at Salt Lake and Ogden. More than 20,000 cattle were purchased the following years and thousands of dollars were received by the cattle owners. By the time the buying program was completed, about one-fourth of the cattle of the county either had been condemned or shipped out. By the fall of 1934 the government had begun purchas­ing sheep under the same program. Although it devastated the stock­men to see their livestock killed, it also relieved them since there was not feed for the animals. Stockmen were allowed to use what they could to eat, and feeding the family was the highest priority. Some beef was placed in a salt brine and cured like ham. The Depression affected Vernal citizens in many different ways. Those with money found that the resulting low prices put them in a better financial position than they had been in the 1920s. On the other hand, many ranchers and land owners who had loans at the Bank of Vernal lost their livelihood as the bank foreclosed on their loans. Many families lost their homes to foreclosure; others lost them when they could not afford to pay the taxes. The people who had money made money by buying property for low prices at tax sales. Most families were living from hand-to-mouth. One family sold a cow for thirty-two dollars in the fall; that money was all the cash available for them to live on until the next summer. Farm families who had a milk cow, chickens, and a garden generally had enough food to eat, except in 1934 when the drought took their gardens. The problem was finding enough cash to pay the rent, land payments, TWENTIETH CENTURY EVENTS 177 taxes, and purchase clothing and necessities. Churches helped pro­vide for people who were near starvation. The radio provided the only entertainment for many families. "Begin the Beguine" was a popular song of the day and comedians such as lack Benny took people's thoughts off the Depression by giv­ing them a good laugh. Eddie Cantor was another radio favorite- that is, for those who had a radio. Several New Deal programs operated in Uintah County to help accomplish the goals of relief, recovery, and reform. Perhaps the most popular was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). This program was intended to stimulate economic recovery by providing jobs for unemployed young men from eighteen to twenty-five years of age who were out of work, had families, and met other eligibility require­ments. The age limits were later changed to seventeen and twenty-three. Enlistment periods were for six months. The young men were paid $45 a month, of which most was sent home to their parents. The Interior and Agriculture departments supervised the men on projects which were on public lands. Many enrollees were city boys who had never had the opportunity to work in natural settings and who benefited enormously from this program. The program not only benefited their poverty-stricken families back home but also gave some of these young men a new outlook at life. The CCC program started in 1933. At its peak, 1,500 camps were established across the country, with 300,000 young men working in them. Several camps were located in the Uinta Basin. In 1935 Uintah County bought ground from William H. and Emily Siddoway to build a CCC camp and then leased the land to the government. Barracks were built south of the present National Guard Armory under the direction of Bus Hatch. Some of these green-roofed bar­racks are still in use by the Forest Service. The camp in Vernal was designated DG-31, Camp 1507, under the Department of Interior, Division of Grazing. Mayor Rice C. Cooper stated that Vernal bene­fitted by $60,000 annually from DG-31.2 Iron Springs in the Uinta Mountains was chosen for the site of a forest CCC camp. Two hundred unemployed men went to work there. The CCC camp at Bullionville made many improvements on the forest road on Brush Creek Mountain. Some 1,000 men from 178 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) crew building a reservoir in Little Valley (UCLRHC, Vernal Express collection) Utah enrolled in the CCC program, including forty-one from Uintah County, forty from Duchesne County, and ten from Daggett County. In Vernal Camp 1507, enrollees numbered 208, including ninety-eight from Ohio, five from Indiana, ninety-five from Kentucky, and ten local boys. Many spike camps where CCC boys camped out on various projects were also located in the area. Walter Busch, a local man, was assigned to take mail to the spike camps and see that the camps were supplied with food and water.3 Other camps were located in Ouray and in Uinta Canyon. The following projects were completed by the Vernal camp crews: seven cattle corrals with three or four pens each, and twenty-one sheep corrals with ten pens were constructed; sixteen springs devel­oped; forty-one reservoirs constructed; 150 miles of road built; twenty bridges built; 100,000 acres treated for rodent and cricket con­trol; thousands of hours of snow removal, sometimes twenty-four hours a day at sub-zero weather clearing roads to ranches, schools, and cemeteries; many drift fences made and miles of cedar post fences built; and many searches for lost and drowned people. The youths worked on the road to Manila along with numerous other roads and trails, providing motorized access to places not before accessible.4 TWENTIETH CENTURY EVENTS 179 Some of the corpsmen married local girls and have spent the rest of their lives in Vernal or other parts of Utah. Many have written how the program influenced their lives for the better, and many have made outstanding achievements in various fields. In recent years some have returned to visit. When World War II began, the Civilian Conservation Corps ended. War work and the draft called many of these men to various places in the world. Another New Deal organization, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), created in 1935, provided construction jobs on public projects such as highways and parks. The WPA helped many people in Uintah County who needed assistance by giving them from forty to eighty dollars per month, depending on how many people were in the family. Recipients earned this assistance by working on civic or government projects such as fighting weeds at forty to fifty cents per hour. State projects included a WPA and Civilian Works Administra­tion (CWA) project at Dinosaur National Monument. A crew of twenty-five men worked at the dinosaur quarry to finish preliminary excavation. WPA and Economic Recovery Administration (ERA) funds were obtained to finance the Buck Pasture and Long Park reservoirs. Workers helped at the Vernal asphalt plant, the Jensen wildfowl nesting and hunting grounds, Whiterocks fish hatchery, and two statewide sanitary projects. The CWA employed thousands of people in building highways and roads as well as hospitals and schools. In November 1933, 221 unemployed Uintah County workers were put to work by the CWA. Street work in Vernal was included as well as projects in other parts of the county. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was founded in 1933 and funded state welfare programs. In December 1935, 2,658 people were on the relief rolls of Utah. That same month $13,000 was paid out through FERA programs in Uintah County. One program employed teachers; also, surplus goods were distrib­uted and lunches furnished to schoolchildren. The Utah Emergency Relief Administration (UERA) worked on a county level and spon­sored planting trees and shrubs in parks. Other relief for Uintah County came from the Agricultural 180 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY Adjustment Administration (AAA), which helped regulate farm pro­duction, and from the Public Works Administration (PWA), which provided jobs in constructing bridges, dams, and schools. The fed­eral works programs spent nearly one million dollars for public improvements in Uintah County. A large payroll came to Vernal with the 1939 establishment of the Utah National Guard unit, Company B of the 115th Regiment of Engineers. The enlisted men stayed in barracks at the CCC camp and ate at the community house. Seventy-four men received training in basic military maneuvers on the fairgrounds and were given instruc­tions in the use of rifles and explosives on the rifle range at Steinaker Draw.5 By 1939 the Great Depression was ending, though the nation's unemployment rate was still 15 percent in 1940 and most New Deal programs continued to operate until 1941. In 1939 Vernal had responded to the lessening of the Depression with the construction of twenty-two new businesses and homes worth $150,000. War, although in many ways devastating, seems to bring a surge to the economy, and the real end of the Depression came as America moved closer to war. On 7 December 1941, Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the United States into World War II. The nation's industry tooled up for full-scale war production. A number of Ashley Valley and Uinta Basin men were stationed in Hawaii or aboard ships taking part in the struggle in the Pacific; others served in the European the­ater of the war. Concerns for economic growth were put on hold as residents ral­lied to support the war effort, even donating the 1896 curfew bell to the scrap-metal drive. The abandoned Uintah Railroad steel rails were ripped up and remolded for war uses. War stamp and bond dri­ves were held in communities and schools. Local schoolchildren col­lected tin foil, scrap paper, tin cans, and 3,400 bags of milkweed pods, which were used as a substitute for kapok and were enough to make 1,100 life-jackets. Homes, hearts, and pocketbooks were opened to servicemen passing through the area. A doctor shortage occurred as medical practitioners were drafted into the service. Draft evaders made the news, as did rationing of food, gasoline, tires, automobiles, TWENTIETH CENTURY EVENTS 181 Vernal's historic curfew bell donated for the World War II scrap metal drive. From left to right: Frances Feltch, Briant Stringham, Russell Montgomery, LaVern Adams and Harold Lundell. (UCLRHC collection) shoes, and other items. At least ten soldiers from Uintah County were taken as prisoners of war and ninety-three Uinta Basin soldiers were on the casualty list. The year 1945 signalled the end of one era and the beginning of a new one. V-E Day, for victory in Europe, came on 8 May with Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender ending the European phase of World War II. Japanese forces on Okinawa surrendered on 21 lune after two and a half months of deadly struggle. In early August the United States exploded two atomic bombs over lapanese soil, and on 15 August, V-J Day, for victory over Japan, marked the end of World War II. Post-World War II Developments Uintah County residents had felt insecure when President Roosevelt died in 1945. However, with the end of war, they found confidence in new president Harry S.Truman, and progress came to Uintah County. The war had stimulated the oil industry and brought boom years to the county. In 1946 Vernal had an acute housing short- 182 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY age, and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) sponsored a million-dollar housing project to provide 100 new area homes. Motel accommodations were insufficient for the new arrivals, many of whom had to be lodged in private homes. In 1947 there was a need for 200 homes. The FHA called for immediate construction of up to 100 new homes in the Uinta Basin for veterans. Because of the hous­ing shortage, 110 trailers were moved into the Vernal trailer parks. The population complained of constantly rising prices of food, cloth­ing, rent, and other necessities of life. However, at least the things needed were available for purchase, as rationing was over. Uncertainty again gripped the nation as North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea in 1950. The new United Nations, in an attempt to handle the situation, sent an inter­national police force with orders to end the hostilities. The United States sent the majority of the troops and embarked on a costly, unpopular war. In luly 1953 the North Koreans and their Chinese allies agreed to a cease-fire and the Korean War came to an end. Four Uintah County boys lost their lives in this war. Up to this point, Americans had always experienced a declared victory in military con­flict, so this ambiguous end came as a bitter shock to many American people. War again hit the home front of Uintah County in the 1960s when U.S. troops landed in Vietnam. Hundreds of thousands of American youths fought in the increasingly unpopular war, and soci­ety at home was bitterly divided over the conflict. Finally, on 27 January 1973, U.S. troops were completely withdrawn from Vietnam. Washington officials had considered the war essential to prevent the spread of Communism. The effort resulted in what many considered to be a horrific military, diplomatic, political, social, and moral defeat, with 57,000 American lives lost, including twelve Uintah County men. The Vietnam conflict reached its official conclusion in 1975 with victory by the North Vietnamese forces. In August 1990 a new international crisis over oil in the Persian Gulf threatened to involve United States troops and had a direct impact on the economy of Uintah County. It was predicted that sharp increases in the price of crude oil brought on by a boycott of oil from Iraq would mean a boom for the Uinta Basin; but this did TWENTIETH CENTURY EVENTS 183 not transpire. The morning of 16 January 1991, U.S. Air Force bombers moved across Iraq and the Persian Gulf War began. Uintah County men and women fought in the Persian crisis, but the county was fortunate not to lose any young people. The war lasted only a few weeks. As each war ended and U.S. active involvement abated, attention centered on making a life and a livelihood in the county. Vernal dou­bled its population from 2,500 to 5,000 persons in the three years from 1947 to 1950, mostly due to oil activity. The boom continued through the 1950s and 1960s, with a 12.5 percent increase in popula­tion registered between 1950 and 1960. The introduction of television brought the world even closer to Uintah County. Residents were given more choices in 1956 when "subscription" TV was brought to Vernal by Basin Television Company, with Chuck (C.R.) Henderson as manager. Basin TV placed equipment on Asphalt Ridge. In 1958 Uintah County installed equipment on Blue Mountain to bring residents community televi­sion, lobs were created by the new industry. Agriculture and government provided nearly half of the jobs in the Uinta Basin by the 1960s. In 1961, out of a total of 6,360 jobs, agriculture provided employment for 2,030 and government for 1,090.6 The boom years continued into the 1970s, with a record of nearly $5 million in building permits issued in Uintah County during 1972. A total of 339 building permits were issued for an estimated total of $4.9 million in construction work.7 In 1970 Shell Oil Company had 100 people working in the area, with a payroll of around a million dollars. In 1973 that increased to 500 persons, with a payroll of $4.5 million. Stauffer Chemical Company's expansion of its phosphate rock-mining operations increased production at its Vernal plant by about 40 percent.8 Between 1970 and 1974 Uintah County's population increased by 27 percent due to oil and mining industry expansion. In 1974 oil-shale development was affecting economic activities as Uinta Basin Association of Governments (UBAG) Energy Council tackled oil-shale impact planning. It became evident that decisions made on how to proceed toward new community development 184 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY would have a marked effect on the future of the community. After the Department of Interior determined it was in the national interest, the decisions were made to lease oil-shale land and try to create an oil-shale industry in the Uinta Basin. Even though the county seemed to be booming, income com­parisons made during 1975 indicated that not all residents were shar­ing in the bounty. Uintah County personal income averaged $3,818 per capita, compared with $4,938 for the state as a whole and $5,903 for the nation.9 The economy continued to expand in Uintah County. In 1981 county construction hit $1.1 billion; Painted Hills Estate Housing Project northwest of Maeser started construction on a planned 930 units; Ashton Energy Center, a multi-million dollar project, began construction. Some building was going on in lensen to alleviate the housing shortage in that area.10 Two local tar-sands projects were under construction. Standard Oil bought American Gilsonite stock, Stauffer Chemical sold their plant to Chevron, and Deseret Generation and Transmission began construction on a $1.2-million Bonanza power plant. The impact was felt on the community in var­ious ways, including the fact that all of the area schools were full. Naples residents felt that the industrial area had grown enough to warrant a city and voted to incorporate Naples in 1982, electing Lawrence Kay as the city's first mayor. The boom, which had been expected to continue to the year 2000, began to diminish in the early 1980s as oil production was cut back, and the future of oil-shale development dimmed as Utah pro­jects were omitted from a $2.7-billion syn-fuel funding package. The county's economy became sluggish and unemployment reached a high level. Despite the rising unemployment, some optimism bloomed as the Uintah County Care Center (nursing home) opened in 1983. The following year Chevron announced plans to expand its Brush Creek phosphate facilities and construct a $250-million fertilizer plant. The Vernal Express began publishing its newspaper twice a week in 1984, with Wednesday and Friday editions. Housing in the Vernal area began to tighten up as rental apartments became scarce in 1984, but TWENTIETH CENTURY EVENTS 185 because of the overbuilding two years previously many single family dwellings were still vacant. With a slump in oil-shale projects, residents began moving out of the Uinta Basin; but forecasters were still projecting steady eco­nomic growth. The community impact board allocated $1.19 million to communities in 1984 to pay for projects needed because of the impact caused by energy development. Included was $700,000 to Vernal City.11 Nearly ten years of planning and work were rewarded as the Bonanza Power Plant was completed by the Deseret Generation and Transmission Cooperative. It was dedicated 20 September 1985, and the start-up was in December with 130 full-time employees. Despite this, however, the downward trend in the economy continued. Bottle Hollow Resort announced it was closing because of financial prob­lems; Ashton Brothers also closed its doors after being Vernal's main retail store for generations; the large Gibson's store closed after eleven years of operation.12 White River Shale closed its Vernal and Salt Lake City offices. From 1 July 1985 to 1 July 1986 the county lost 1,000 in population.13 Plummeting oil prices in 1986 hit the county's economy hard. The rock-bottom price for oil was blamed on a global oil war among international oil-cartel member nations to secure a larger portion of the world market. Falling oil prices also nibbled away at local phos­phate plant employment. By the end of 1987 Uintah County's out-migration rate of 4.9 percent was the highest in Utah. The Ashley Valley Food Pantry was organized to help the needy during this 1986 bust period. The pantry is staffed by volunteers and service is provided to senior citizens, disabled, and low- or no-income persons. These individuals receive a box of food per month and delivery is made to shut-ins. In 1993 a grant was obtained and a building was purchased on Highway 40. The food pantry is run by contributions from businesses, companies, churches, scouts, schools, library, and private donations. Most of the food is secured from the Utah State Food Bank. Federal Emergency Management funds also help in the funding. The following chart reflects the employment picture at the end of 1994. The total employment figure for industry of non-agriculture 186 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY in Uintah County was 7,393 people, which was a 2.3 percent increase over 1993. Jobs Workers Percent Trade Finance, insurance 8c real estate Services Government Mining Construction Manufacturing Transportation & Utilities 1,834 115 1,535 1,806 1,099 204 212 588 25 2 21 23 15 3 3 8 The above figures do not include agriculture and self-employ­ment, which are estimated to be 1,750 total-with 1,100 self-employed and 650 employed in agriculture, bringing the total estimated employment figure for 1994 to 9,143.14 Technological developments in transportation and communica­tions moved Uintah County out of relative isolation into the world community. In a sense, the twentieth century really began for Uintah County in 1905 when John W. Pope went to Denver, purchased an automobile, and had it shipped to Dragon. It took him two days to drive the automobile to Vernal from Dragon where residents greeted the arrival of the county's first car. The machine was used to haul pas­sengers to celebrations and to resorts in the vicinity of Vernal. By 1917, Uintah Basin residents owned 182 automobiles including eighty Fords, fifty Buicks, twenty-five Overlands, ten Oaklands, ten Dodges, and seven Studebakers. There were also four trucks of unknown make and eight Buick three-ton trucks.15 The natural scenic beauty of the area is a tremendous asset, and with the introduction of automobiles tourism became a large and growing industry limited only by the availability of vehicles and roads. An ocean-to-ocean highway was designated in 1914 which would cross Utah. Increased funds began to be spent improving roads. The establishment of Dinosaur National Monument in 1915 was a forerunner of many attractions that would be developed to enhance the area as a tourist destination. It was estimated that thousands of TWENTIETH CENTURY EVENTS 187 tourists would visit Vernal during the summer of 1915, so the old Main Street hitching posts were removed and forty street lights installed to improve the appearance of downtown Vernal. The development of the dinosaur quarry east of lensen made it possible for visitors to view the actual quarrying of dinosaur bones. In 1940, 10928 visitors toured this site and in 1994 the number of vis­itors had grown to 314,117. The Utah Field House of Natural History on Vernal's Main Street is another popular tourist attraction. It opened in 1947 and houses many natural and human artifacts from the area. In 1962 three life-size "action" groups of dinosaurs were brought to the field house and an addition was made to provide a spectacular blacklight exhibit for the florescent mineral collection. These projects helped to make the museum one of America's outstanding natural-history attractions. Since then the permanent exhibit has been greatly expanded to included the Dinosaur Gardens, which is a replica of a tropical habi­tat for dinosaurs. The gardens are inhabited by fourteen life-sized dinosaur models. A steady flow of visitors passes through the gardens all summer, and during the winter holiday season many local and out-of-county visitors come to see the gardens glow with thousands of colored lights. In 1966 the Ute Indian Tribe applied for a grant to build a $1.2 million tourist-recreation complex on Highway 40 near Fort Duchesne. Groundbreaking for the Bottle Hollow Resort took place in 1968 and work began on the $1\5 million project. The resort was built on the north end of 420-acre Bottle Hollow Reservoir and offers a swimming pool, cultural exhibits, convention facilities, and a din­ner theater. The Western Park Complex opened in 1991 and houses a museum along with the Outlaw Trail productions each July as well as other activities, including rodeos, livestock shows, horse shows, and county fairs. The facility is also used for many social events and meet­ings. Many tourists take time to visit the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum, which was established in the old rock tithing house on North Vernal Avenue in 1951. In 1958 the building was moved to Second South and Fifth West, where an addition was built to house HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY an enlarged museum. Also t h e local h i s t o r y center at t h e county l i b r a r y w i t h its collection of newspaper microfilm, local history items, and individual life histories attracts many tourists searching for traces of ancestors or just looking to find more about the area. The Outlaw Trail History Center is also located there and attracts enthusiasts from all over the world. Vernal's chamber of commerce greatly enhanced the beauty of Vernal by placing and helping to m a i n t a i n numerous flower pots along Main Street. Locust trees also were planted. During the sum­mer the abundant colorful growth entices tourists to prolong their visit. As Uintah County plans for the twenty-first century, oil, mining, and agriculture will continue to be t h e major factors in t h e area's economy. With the comparatively new tourist industry expanding, t o u r i sm will have an ever-increasing role in the new century. It will be unlikely that the county can escape entirely the boom-bust cycles that have characterized most of the twentieth-century experience; but, with greater economic diversity and more experienced planning, perhaps these cycles can be moderated. ENDNOTES 1. Vernal Express, 12 luly 1934. 2. Ibid., 31 March 1938. 3. Walter G. Busch, unpublished history of his life, including his time in the local CCC camp. Copy located in the Uintah County Library Regional History Center, folder 237, which also includes other material on the CCC. 4. Civilian Conservation Corps, Camp DG-31 Vernal, Utah, letter to Ashley Valley Woolgrowers Annual Convention, 18 February 1938; notes taken at Uintah County Historical Society meeting, 13 luly 1985, where sev­eral former CCC members gave input, material located in Uintah County Library Regional Center, folder 237. 5. Vernal Express, 14 December 1939. 6. Ibid., 5 lanuary 1961. 7. Ibid., 22 lune, 16 November, 23 November, 28 December 1972, and 27 December 1973. 8. Ibid., 27 December 1973. 9. Ibid., 27 February, 15 May, 25 September, 27 November 1975, and 16 lune 1977. TWENTIETH CENTURY EVENTS 189 10. Ibid., 8 lanuary, 19 February, 5 March, 19 March, 26 March, 9 April, 16 luly, 13 August, 3 September, 24 September, 8 October, and 31 December 1981. 11. Ibid., 6 lanuary, 2 March, 7 March, 13 April, 2 May, 4 May, 16 May, 26 September, 3 October, 17 October, 7 December, and 12 December 1984. 12. Ibid., 11 lanuary, 25 lanuary, 20 February, 6 March, 24 May, 31 luly, 9 August, 9 October, and 20 December 1985. 13. Ibid., 18 April, 30 April, 17 lune, 12 September, 17 September, 5 November, 3 December 1986, and 28 lanuary 1987. 14. Figures provided by ludy Chambley of Vernal lob Service. 15. Byron Loosle, "The Ashley National Forest." (Unpublished manu­script located in the Regional History Center).