| OCR Text |
Show Acknowledgments M. .y earliest memories of Beaver County were formed when my family made our annual trek to the beach at Southern California. Part of the ritual, from which we never deviated, was to stop at Beaver for dinner. It became our refuge, our rest stop at least, a time when we could finally pile out of the car and come up for air. Each year my mother patiently pulled into the covered parking lot of a restaurant on Main Street carefully parking between two poles that held up a metal covering, not unlike a carport. Each year after we were fed and were acting like human beings again, we got back in the car and she pulled out. As if it were part of the ritual, each year she scraped the side of our station wagon on the metal pole to one side or the other of the car, something bending it slightly. I have always considered that our family's unique contribution to Beaver. My parents, however, inadvertently instilled in me a great love of rural Utah on those trips for I would watch the miles and miles of changing terrain and skies so much bigger than at home and believe this was the backdrop of the story of the Mormon pioneers. To me that meant it was sacred turf. The land, the beautiful rock and adobe vn viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS buildings we explored, and the stretch of mountains and plateaus became a part of me as a youth and I still carry that great regard and respect for Utah that I learned from my parents as a child. Now, my experience of Utah is in a car filled with different children, with a fresh vision of the land and its beauties. My children help me see Utah with new eyes, and have supported me in my endless search for greater understanding of it. Better than the finest cut sandstone foundations of Utah's beautiful pioneer buildings, my children are the rock I rest on and the backdrop of every story I write and live and I am always grateful for what they give me so generously. Jason, Elizabeth, Rachael, Emily, Katelyn, Patrick, and now Mark and Aspen make my life rich and beautiful. I am grateful for the enthusiastic support of Betty Miller, the Director of the Beaver County Travel Council and the chair of the Beaver County Centennial Committee who organized this project. Newcomer herself to this place (more than a decade ago) she saw its beauties and the value of its history with an enthusiasm and newness that was always inspiring. Her committee, which included Dell Hollingshead, Ann Messer, Gladys Whittaker, J. D. Osborne, Glenna Osborne, and Richard Albrecht, have been enormously helpful in providing ideas for improving the manuscript, identifying photographs, and have been incredibly patient with the pace of the work. This series, and certainly this book, would never have happened without the untiring efforts of Allan Kent Powell and Craig Fuller- being a part of this unique effort to chronicle the histories of counties of Utah has been a privilege. Allen D. Robert's work on the architecture and landscape of Beaver County is a part of this manuscript and as always Allen has mentored me through my efforts to better understand the built environment and I recognize his important contribution. What a fitting conclusion to the project to have my friend Gary Bergera copy edit the manuscript. His careful eye and meticulous attention to detail has strengthened my efforts. |
