The Birth of a Mountain
Alf Engen at the IV Olympic Winter
Games 1936 held in Garmisch-
Partenkirchen, Germany.
This novel, written by Mrs. Holmstrom’s eighth grade students, is based on the beginnings of Snow Basin Ski Resort, in Huntsville. We would like to thank the following people
for sharing their information and allowing us to interview them. Lyle Allen, Bob Beck, Alf Engen, Rich Finlinson, Mrs. Byron Folkman, Ralph Johnson, Ruele Miller, Marva Pike, Mr. E.S. Prothero, The files of Roy Stoker, U.S. Forest Service, and Erma Wilson.
PRE-HISTORY
By Emily Peterson and Jennifer Harris
All was calm under the deep, blue sea, when suddenly, the earth cracked fiercely. Huge waves formed. Lava steamed out of the earth's core, causing the ocean to boil. From beneath the surface, huge slabs of crust rose, plates pushing continually against each other. Rocks fell everywhere. Then all was calm.
Life grew abundant for many years as the ocean stood quiet. Then again the air was filled with a tremendous crashing and thundering as the earth broke apart, some staying beneath the water some rising up to meet the gray and furious sky above. Earthquakes resulted in the continents separating, forcing North and South America to slowly drift in a north - west direction.
After millions of years of shifting, cracking, and shaking they settled, moving only a few meters in the thousands of years to come. Land rose and fell on each continent forming new and exotic landforms. The earthquakes resulted in huge mountains on the North American continent. The first main mountain range was on the eastern half of the continent, best known as the Appalachian mountains. The Appalachian mountains were barren, jagged edges above the water's surface. The mountains caused the water to flow west into the Pacific ocean. On the western half the continent was still moving continually. The Rocky Mountains began to take their form. The mountains pushed the water back toward the Appalachians. The land kept shifting and shaking until finally it began to rise above the water. A small portion of the Rocky Mountains became what is now known as the Wasatch Mountains.
The Wasatch mountain range stretched from southern Idaho to central Utah. In a portion of the range, the edges of a fault, formed wild zig-zag formations which made little valleys and canyons. The Wasatch mountains also surrounded the massive body of water known as Lake Bonneville. Eventually its water drained out through a canyon toward the Snake River. It left behind a dry, empty valley of water-stained, weather-beaten rocks. Strong winds blew, eroding the rocks and making fertile soil. Seasons passed. Rainy springs made the summers rich with wild flowers, wheat, grasses and trees. Pine trees, Quaking Aspens, sagebrush, flowers, and many other beautiful plants filled the valley floor. When the wind blew, the valley floor looked like a golden ocean of wheat waving in the wind. Animals such as bear, deer, elk, mountain lions, beaver, and chipmunks, and a vast assortment of birds made their homes in the new little valley. The trees slowly turned to red, orange and yellow leaving fall the prettiest time of the year.
Then the cold wind began to blow. Snow began to fall covering the valley floor like a blanket. Animals hurried to their dens to spend the long winter asleep. The new little
valley lay quietly under the snow with its animals all hiding in their holes and the ice-capped mountains glistening in the sun.
SETTLING THE VALLEY
By Michelle Melle and Marcy Thomas
The first human inhabitants of the Little Valley, as it was called in the early history, were Indians. They made the valley their camping grounds on their trips to and fro. The valley was rich with beaver, muskrat, bear, and other animals. In the 1800's the people of a chief named "Little Soldier'' used the valley frequently. It was not long before the richness of the valley was discovered by fur traders ... Early History of Liberty and the People.
''There can be no doubt in regard to Ogden's Hole being identical with Ogden Valley in which the settlement of Huntsville, Eden, and Liberty are now located. The name "Ogden Hole” was applied to that particular valley prior to the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in 1847, and perhaps the best authority we have is the official document written by Howard Stansbury, Captain, Corps of Topographical Engineers, U.S. Army, entitled "Exploration and Survey of the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah" published in Philadelphia in 1852."
''Monday, August 27. We followed down Ogden's Creek about a mile when we found that the broad valley was shut up between two ranges of hills, or rather mountains, leaving a flat, low-level bottom, densely covered in places by willows, through which the stream ran from side to side for three miles, washing alternately the base of either range.
After passing through this canyon, the ridge separated and before us lay a most lonely, broad open valley somewhat in the shape of a crescent about 15 miles long and from five to seven miles in width, hemmed in on all sides, especially on the south side of which the snow glistened in the rays of the morning sun. The scene was cheering in the highest degree. The valley rich and level was covered with grass. Springs broke out from the mountain in every direction and the facilities for irrigation appeared to be very great."
1849, August 27 ... Lt. Stansbury was the first white man who recorded passing through Ogden Valley. The valley was surrounded by the Wasatch and Cache Mountains, which left a flat level bottom. The valley was rich and level and was covered by grass. The lush wheat was well over a horse's chest. Springs broke out from every direction making irrigation appear to be great." In the spring with its various shades, colors and hues of green when Mother Nature is bursting forth with new life; in the summer with its robes of beautiful flowers and delicious fruits; in the fall with its most attractive autumn colors; and in winter with its deep snowy blanket is always beautiful." ... Early History of Liberty and the People
1854 ... Brigham Young sent an exploring expedition into Ogden's Hole under the direction of David Moore of Ogden. Charles F. Middleton and others were in the company. They traveled by way of North Ogden across the mountains into Ogden Valley. They found it necessary to let their wagon down by ropes over cliffs when crossing the mountains through North Ogden Pass. In the words of Charles F. Middleton, "The first wagon that was taken into the valley was taken by hand of man. No mules or oxen hauled that vehicle; I steered the wagon." ... Stoker family history.
1856 .... The pioneers from '56 on used the Ogden Valley as a perfect herding ground, corralled naturally by the mountains, with grass and water all summer. The cattle
were taken into the valley in the spring and returned to the lower valleys in the fall. Ogden Hole, now known as Ogden Valley, was used as a common herding ground by
Bishop Chauncey W. West, and others.
1859 ... There was grazing of livestock and timber cutting in the valley and Wheeler Basin. The first road was built through Ogden Canyon. It was a toll road, and a fee of $1.00 was charged. Fires burned uncontrolled through Wheeler Basin. Levi Wheeler put the first sawmill at the mouth of Wheeler Creek in Ogden Canyon. They cut saw logs up Wheeler Creek. The road had not been completed in 1859 .... Stoker family history.
1860 ... The road was finished. Captain Hunt, his two sons and family settled Huntsville. Thomas Abbot had his cattle where Huntsville is located. Issac and David McKay and Jefferson Hunt had cattle there by 1860.
The peak south of Snow Basin was named Flint Peak. Huntsville was once called Middleton after Charles F. Middleton. The cattle the first year belonged to Captain
William H. Hooper, Bishop Chauncey W. West, and others. Coyotes were unheard of until the sheepherders moved in. Red fox, martin, wolverines, bear, and deer were plentiful. The fishing was great. There were thousands of rattlesnakes.
1861 ... Thomas Bingham put up a hand-driven shingle mill in the North Fork of Ogden River. Later he moved it to Wheeler Basin.
1865 .... During the Blackhawk war, when Indians all over Utah began to cause serious trouble, President Young advised all the communities to settle close together. After
the war the Indians slowly dwindled away, leaving the lush valley to the white men.
FLOOD IN WHEELER BASIN
By Angela Peterson and Dawneal Jorgensen
The dust rolled lazily across the open bowls, dusting the brassy stalks of natural grasses. Cattle, scattered about the huge range, grazed on the scarce grass. The year was 1926 and Wheeler Basin had been grazed and logged beyond what the land could bear. A soft wind moved in small columns across the dark blue sky. The few pines, firs, spruce and incense cedars of Huntsville stretched out from the sharp edge of the meadow into a hazy distance. The day had started out under a blue sky and a hot sun but dark clouds began piling upon the horizon dimming the light. Large shafts of sunlight penetrated through the dark masses on to the towering dim mountain. The crowns of the evergreens flamed with yellow in the wondrous mountain sunlight. Solid dark clouds spread fast over the wide navy blue sky. The light of the land was slowly receding. Soon, the only light in the dim valley was the lightening shimmering in the distance, lighting and darkening the grey mountains.
The laughter of two young children echoed through the silent valley. Their mother was in the garden behind their small cabin, pulling up the dying crops that had been so long without water. Stuffing all the dead crops in a wheelbarrow, she started off around the house to where her two children were playing. That's when she first saw the storm marching its way across the valley toward them. The quilt hanging on the rusty clothesline, one she had made for her youngest son, sat limp on the line. The heat seemed deep as sullen quarry water. The children had just finished a cold supper around five and were now playing under a beaten and dusty evergreen. In the west, great purple thunderheads were slowly building up, massing like an army. Lightning flashed inside of them. She sighed and fanned her neck with her hand. She doubted if it would cool her off any, but it improved the view.
"Mom, there's going to be a bad storm ain't there," her oldest son asked.
She looked into his sea-green eyes as she replied, "It rained last night and the night before, so it will probably rain again."
"Maybe, it won't this time."
“Well, your pa will probably be home before it rains. Just don't worry about it and go and play with your brother."
He gave her an uneasy grin and staggered off to the spot where his littlest brother sat. The thunder heads were getting closer, pushing away the blue. There was no doubt; the storm was coming. The two children returned, complaining of blowing sand in their eyes. The mother sat on the porch watching the sky.
Thunder boomed, rolling slowly across the valley, then echoing back again. The clouds twisted and rolled, now blackened. They gradually overspread the valley. She could see a delicate caul of rain extending down from them. It was still a distance away. The air began to move jerkily at first, lifting the quilt and dropping it again. It began to freshen and grow steadily, first cooling the perspiration on their bodies and then seeming to freeze it. It was then the rain was at its worst - like a silver veil rolling across the land, blotting out the houses. The smallest child gave his mother a startled glance crawling on to her lap.
"Mommy look," he said pointing to the endless thunderclouds.
"Okay, let's go inside to wait for your father," she said, standing up, putting her arms around their shoulders.
The two children hurried into the house. She stopped and glanced up at the dark sky with a vague smile forming at her mouth, hoping for the best then vanishing inside of her home.
Rain began to fall from the shadowy sky above, dimming the valley. There was little vegetation in Wheeler Basin to hold the water. The water washed the thick musty dust away in long streams. The rain kept coming and coming. It ran down through the basin joining with other runoff waters and roared down through Wheeler Canyon. It met the raging waters of the Ogden River running down to the Ogden Canyon. By the time the waters reached the small city of Ogden, they were at flood stage. It carried trees, rocks, and sometimes it even carried small animals with it down the river.
If the land in Wheeler Basin had not been over grazed, it might have held the rain that came down. The flood washed out thirteen homes. It was believed that the dirty flood waters carried typhoid. A member of the Stoker family, Roy Stoker's uncle Dick, was the first in Ogden to die of the typhoid and many others followed.
As a result, seventeen civic leaders took action and started a program to put the eroded land under the Forest Service protection. They filed lawsuits against the landowner. The Ogden Chamber of Commerce and civic clubs raised funds with which they would buy the land. They turned it over to the Federal Government for half of the purchase price. Ogden City purchased other Snow Basin lands and donated them to the Federal Government. It took about twelve years for the Government to secure full control over the land in Snow Basin.
ALF ENGEN IN NORWAY
By Ben Miller and Preston Cox
Alf stretched and yawned as he opened his blurred eyes. The house was silent except for his mother who was busy in the kitchen. Alf lay and stretched until he was satisfied. Then with a sudden surge of happiness and energy, he somersaulted out of bed. He crept noiselessly down the hall towards the kitchen. He peeped around the kitchen wall to find his mother making oatmeal. Suddenly without warning he sprang out and gave a horrendous roar.
"Raaaahhhhhhh!!!!" he yelled.
"Rah yourself," the accustomed mother replied. ''If you try to scare me the same time every morning, I'll just be waiting for it. What's the fun in that?"
"Hmmm. Maybe... Mom, why do we always have to have oatmeal?"
"It's just the way things are. Not only for us, but for everyone. But that's not important now. You better hurry. Your brothers will be getting up soon."
After a quick bowl of oatmeal, Alf scurried to the water basin that his mother prepared for the family every morning. He washed his arms, hands, and face thoroughly in the plain, warm water. After he finished, he meandered to the small bedroom which he shared with his two brothers. Today he was going to jump with the Olympic team of Norway. It didn't take long for Alf to get on his familiar woolen clothes.
It was a long trip over the snow-packed quiet streets to the great hill Alf would soon conquer. The merchants in his Norwegian town were busy in the streets. The small markets seemed desolate on this cold morning. Alf's mood however was bright and optimistic. His family was as humble as many of the other townspeople but they never lost their spirit.
"It's a long hike up," Sverre commented as they approached the mountain.
*******
Alf took a deep breath as he strapped on his skis. The toughened skier gazed down the hillside as the last Olympic star awed the crowd. Norway's Olympic team had just returned from a ski jumping sweep in the Olympics. At the age of eighteen, Alf had been too young to join the team this year, but it was tradition that the local boys be able to jump against the returning Olympians. It was a great day for the big jump. Many of the citizens of Norway had gathered to watch the spectacular event. The slow breeze froze as Alf positioned himself for the launch. The murmur of the crowed silenced as Alf made a lightning quick motion off the top of the hill. Every twist and turn came naturally as the accustomed jumper sped down the hill. It seemed no time at all before the great skier was soaring through the air. The noise of the crowd began to grow in amazement as he glided through the air. The people couldn't believe what they were seeing. It seemed that Alf would never land, but he did, and beyond where the Olympians had! The crowd cheered and whistled as Alf slid to a stop.
Alf knew immediately that he had won. He beamed in pride as he thought back to his early skiing childhood.
He had been taught to ski at the age of three by his young father. They often skied together. At 7 he was testing new jumps for other skiers. Alf was very muscular and
well built. He was somewhat tall at six feet. His pale blue-green eyes bit into the crowd as he thought back to the day of the greatest jump of his career.
It had been in 1926. He was standing at the top of a jump in front of 50,000 spectators. He had executed his best jump ever, and tied the jumping world record. The sixteen-year-old Alf, could only guess where his adventurous life would go.
The rest of the day was heroic and full for Alf. But unbeknownst to him, his time in Norway was almost over. His father, who had been their only provider, died in 1928 when Alf was only eighteen. The world economy was falling into what we now know as The Depression. Would Alf s promising career be washed down the drain? Alf prayed to himself that his last jump in Norway would not be his last jump. His mom worried also, not only for Alf, but his two brothers Karre and Sverre. She scraped every penny the small family had and decided to send Alf to America, hoping that he could manage to bring the rest of them over later. She was very sad and worried about him, for he knew no one in America.
THE THIRTIES ... DEPRESSION YEARS
By Brock Murray and Joseph Morse
By the 1930's, the United States and most of the world had gone into a state of depression. The stock market had collapsed, people had no money to spend and droughts had turned sections of the country into dust bowls. Farmers also contributed to dust bowls. Their plantless fields were vulnerable to even slight winds. With nothing to hold the soil down, the wind that roamed the prairies could lift the dry fields into the air.
The people of the mid-west feared when their children went to play on the desolate plains. During this poverty-stricken time, when people spent time outside, they often
had to wear gas masks to filter out the sand. The poor people lived every second of their lives with dust. They slept with dust; they cleaned the dust; and even ate the dust.
Jobs were scarce and many people didn't have a penny to their name. The jobs that were available went to grownups, leaving the young men of the country without a way to learn a trade. All of the parents were concerned for the welfare of the young men, so the president proposed that there be camps to get the young men working for pay from the army and the forest service. This program would be called the Civilian Conservation Corps.
During this time of world turmoil, there was still hope for people. Utah was not hit as hard as some of the other countries or states. In a northern part of Utah there was a band of visionaries who were planning to make Utah a Winter Wonder Land. The great ski jumper, Alf Engen, his brothers, the forest service and the community, along with a group of CCC boys did the unbelievable. They got support, manpower and vision to begin the Snow Basin Project. Most of the people in town did not think much of this for the simple reason that they thought that it was a rich man's sport. Even though the people in town had their differences about this idea, people still had to see it to believe it. There truly were people who could fly through the air or float down a mountain on two wooden boards. People flocked to watch this new sport of ski jumping.
When Alf Engen landed in New York, he found many opportunities. He found he could support himself well playing soccer and ski jumping - the two things he loved dearly.
for sharing their information and allowing us to interview them. Lyle Allen, Bob Beck, Alf Engen, Rich Finlinson, Mrs. Byron Folkman, Ralph Johnson, Ruele Miller, Marva Pike, Mr. E.S. Prothero, The files of Roy Stoker, U.S. Forest Service, and Erma Wilson.
PRE-HISTORY
By Emily Peterson and Jennifer Harris
All was calm under the deep, blue sea, when suddenly, the earth cracked fiercely. Huge waves formed. Lava steamed out of the earth's core, causing the ocean to boil. From beneath the surface, huge slabs of crust rose, plates pushing continually against each other. Rocks fell everywhere. Then all was calm.
Life grew abundant for many years as the ocean stood quiet. Then again the air was filled with a tremendous crashing and thundering as the earth broke apart, some staying beneath the water some rising up to meet the gray and furious sky above. Earthquakes resulted in the continents separating, forcing North and South America to slowly drift in a north - west direction.
After millions of years of shifting, cracking, and shaking they settled, moving only a few meters in the thousands of years to come. Land rose and fell on each continent forming new and exotic landforms. The earthquakes resulted in huge mountains on the North American continent. The first main mountain range was on the eastern half of the continent, best known as the Appalachian mountains. The Appalachian mountains were barren, jagged edges above the water's surface. The mountains caused the water to flow west into the Pacific ocean. On the western half the continent was still moving continually. The Rocky Mountains began to take their form. The mountains pushed the water back toward the Appalachians. The land kept shifting and shaking until finally it began to rise above the water. A small portion of the Rocky Mountains became what is now known as the Wasatch Mountains.
The Wasatch mountain range stretched from southern Idaho to central Utah. In a portion of the range, the edges of a fault, formed wild zig-zag formations which made little valleys and canyons. The Wasatch mountains also surrounded the massive body of water known as Lake Bonneville. Eventually its water drained out through a canyon toward the Snake River. It left behind a dry, empty valley of water-stained, weather-beaten rocks. Strong winds blew, eroding the rocks and making fertile soil. Seasons passed. Rainy springs made the summers rich with wild flowers, wheat, grasses and trees. Pine trees, Quaking Aspens, sagebrush, flowers, and many other beautiful plants filled the valley floor. When the wind blew, the valley floor looked like a golden ocean of wheat waving in the wind. Animals such as bear, deer, elk, mountain lions, beaver, and chipmunks, and a vast assortment of birds made their homes in the new little valley. The trees slowly turned to red, orange and yellow leaving fall the prettiest time of the year.
Then the cold wind began to blow. Snow began to fall covering the valley floor like a blanket. Animals hurried to their dens to spend the long winter asleep. The new little
valley lay quietly under the snow with its animals all hiding in their holes and the ice-capped mountains glistening in the sun.
SETTLING THE VALLEY
By Michelle Melle and Marcy Thomas
The first human inhabitants of the Little Valley, as it was called in the early history, were Indians. They made the valley their camping grounds on their trips to and fro. The valley was rich with beaver, muskrat, bear, and other animals. In the 1800's the people of a chief named "Little Soldier'' used the valley frequently. It was not long before the richness of the valley was discovered by fur traders ... Early History of Liberty and the People.
''There can be no doubt in regard to Ogden's Hole being identical with Ogden Valley in which the settlement of Huntsville, Eden, and Liberty are now located. The name "Ogden Hole” was applied to that particular valley prior to the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in 1847, and perhaps the best authority we have is the official document written by Howard Stansbury, Captain, Corps of Topographical Engineers, U.S. Army, entitled "Exploration and Survey of the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah" published in Philadelphia in 1852."
''Monday, August 27. We followed down Ogden's Creek about a mile when we found that the broad valley was shut up between two ranges of hills, or rather mountains, leaving a flat, low-level bottom, densely covered in places by willows, through which the stream ran from side to side for three miles, washing alternately the base of either range.
After passing through this canyon, the ridge separated and before us lay a most lonely, broad open valley somewhat in the shape of a crescent about 15 miles long and from five to seven miles in width, hemmed in on all sides, especially on the south side of which the snow glistened in the rays of the morning sun. The scene was cheering in the highest degree. The valley rich and level was covered with grass. Springs broke out from the mountain in every direction and the facilities for irrigation appeared to be very great."
1849, August 27 ... Lt. Stansbury was the first white man who recorded passing through Ogden Valley. The valley was surrounded by the Wasatch and Cache Mountains, which left a flat level bottom. The valley was rich and level and was covered by grass. The lush wheat was well over a horse's chest. Springs broke out from every direction making irrigation appear to be great." In the spring with its various shades, colors and hues of green when Mother Nature is bursting forth with new life; in the summer with its robes of beautiful flowers and delicious fruits; in the fall with its most attractive autumn colors; and in winter with its deep snowy blanket is always beautiful." ... Early History of Liberty and the People
1854 ... Brigham Young sent an exploring expedition into Ogden's Hole under the direction of David Moore of Ogden. Charles F. Middleton and others were in the company. They traveled by way of North Ogden across the mountains into Ogden Valley. They found it necessary to let their wagon down by ropes over cliffs when crossing the mountains through North Ogden Pass. In the words of Charles F. Middleton, "The first wagon that was taken into the valley was taken by hand of man. No mules or oxen hauled that vehicle; I steered the wagon." ... Stoker family history.
1856 .... The pioneers from '56 on used the Ogden Valley as a perfect herding ground, corralled naturally by the mountains, with grass and water all summer. The cattle
were taken into the valley in the spring and returned to the lower valleys in the fall. Ogden Hole, now known as Ogden Valley, was used as a common herding ground by
Bishop Chauncey W. West, and others.
1859 ... There was grazing of livestock and timber cutting in the valley and Wheeler Basin. The first road was built through Ogden Canyon. It was a toll road, and a fee of $1.00 was charged. Fires burned uncontrolled through Wheeler Basin. Levi Wheeler put the first sawmill at the mouth of Wheeler Creek in Ogden Canyon. They cut saw logs up Wheeler Creek. The road had not been completed in 1859 .... Stoker family history.
1860 ... The road was finished. Captain Hunt, his two sons and family settled Huntsville. Thomas Abbot had his cattle where Huntsville is located. Issac and David McKay and Jefferson Hunt had cattle there by 1860.
The peak south of Snow Basin was named Flint Peak. Huntsville was once called Middleton after Charles F. Middleton. The cattle the first year belonged to Captain
William H. Hooper, Bishop Chauncey W. West, and others. Coyotes were unheard of until the sheepherders moved in. Red fox, martin, wolverines, bear, and deer were plentiful. The fishing was great. There were thousands of rattlesnakes.
1861 ... Thomas Bingham put up a hand-driven shingle mill in the North Fork of Ogden River. Later he moved it to Wheeler Basin.
1865 .... During the Blackhawk war, when Indians all over Utah began to cause serious trouble, President Young advised all the communities to settle close together. After
the war the Indians slowly dwindled away, leaving the lush valley to the white men.
FLOOD IN WHEELER BASIN
By Angela Peterson and Dawneal Jorgensen
The dust rolled lazily across the open bowls, dusting the brassy stalks of natural grasses. Cattle, scattered about the huge range, grazed on the scarce grass. The year was 1926 and Wheeler Basin had been grazed and logged beyond what the land could bear. A soft wind moved in small columns across the dark blue sky. The few pines, firs, spruce and incense cedars of Huntsville stretched out from the sharp edge of the meadow into a hazy distance. The day had started out under a blue sky and a hot sun but dark clouds began piling upon the horizon dimming the light. Large shafts of sunlight penetrated through the dark masses on to the towering dim mountain. The crowns of the evergreens flamed with yellow in the wondrous mountain sunlight. Solid dark clouds spread fast over the wide navy blue sky. The light of the land was slowly receding. Soon, the only light in the dim valley was the lightening shimmering in the distance, lighting and darkening the grey mountains.
The laughter of two young children echoed through the silent valley. Their mother was in the garden behind their small cabin, pulling up the dying crops that had been so long without water. Stuffing all the dead crops in a wheelbarrow, she started off around the house to where her two children were playing. That's when she first saw the storm marching its way across the valley toward them. The quilt hanging on the rusty clothesline, one she had made for her youngest son, sat limp on the line. The heat seemed deep as sullen quarry water. The children had just finished a cold supper around five and were now playing under a beaten and dusty evergreen. In the west, great purple thunderheads were slowly building up, massing like an army. Lightning flashed inside of them. She sighed and fanned her neck with her hand. She doubted if it would cool her off any, but it improved the view.
"Mom, there's going to be a bad storm ain't there," her oldest son asked.
She looked into his sea-green eyes as she replied, "It rained last night and the night before, so it will probably rain again."
"Maybe, it won't this time."
“Well, your pa will probably be home before it rains. Just don't worry about it and go and play with your brother."
He gave her an uneasy grin and staggered off to the spot where his littlest brother sat. The thunder heads were getting closer, pushing away the blue. There was no doubt; the storm was coming. The two children returned, complaining of blowing sand in their eyes. The mother sat on the porch watching the sky.
Thunder boomed, rolling slowly across the valley, then echoing back again. The clouds twisted and rolled, now blackened. They gradually overspread the valley. She could see a delicate caul of rain extending down from them. It was still a distance away. The air began to move jerkily at first, lifting the quilt and dropping it again. It began to freshen and grow steadily, first cooling the perspiration on their bodies and then seeming to freeze it. It was then the rain was at its worst - like a silver veil rolling across the land, blotting out the houses. The smallest child gave his mother a startled glance crawling on to her lap.
"Mommy look," he said pointing to the endless thunderclouds.
"Okay, let's go inside to wait for your father," she said, standing up, putting her arms around their shoulders.
The two children hurried into the house. She stopped and glanced up at the dark sky with a vague smile forming at her mouth, hoping for the best then vanishing inside of her home.
Rain began to fall from the shadowy sky above, dimming the valley. There was little vegetation in Wheeler Basin to hold the water. The water washed the thick musty dust away in long streams. The rain kept coming and coming. It ran down through the basin joining with other runoff waters and roared down through Wheeler Canyon. It met the raging waters of the Ogden River running down to the Ogden Canyon. By the time the waters reached the small city of Ogden, they were at flood stage. It carried trees, rocks, and sometimes it even carried small animals with it down the river.
If the land in Wheeler Basin had not been over grazed, it might have held the rain that came down. The flood washed out thirteen homes. It was believed that the dirty flood waters carried typhoid. A member of the Stoker family, Roy Stoker's uncle Dick, was the first in Ogden to die of the typhoid and many others followed.
As a result, seventeen civic leaders took action and started a program to put the eroded land under the Forest Service protection. They filed lawsuits against the landowner. The Ogden Chamber of Commerce and civic clubs raised funds with which they would buy the land. They turned it over to the Federal Government for half of the purchase price. Ogden City purchased other Snow Basin lands and donated them to the Federal Government. It took about twelve years for the Government to secure full control over the land in Snow Basin.
ALF ENGEN IN NORWAY
By Ben Miller and Preston Cox
Alf stretched and yawned as he opened his blurred eyes. The house was silent except for his mother who was busy in the kitchen. Alf lay and stretched until he was satisfied. Then with a sudden surge of happiness and energy, he somersaulted out of bed. He crept noiselessly down the hall towards the kitchen. He peeped around the kitchen wall to find his mother making oatmeal. Suddenly without warning he sprang out and gave a horrendous roar.
"Raaaahhhhhhh!!!!" he yelled.
"Rah yourself," the accustomed mother replied. ''If you try to scare me the same time every morning, I'll just be waiting for it. What's the fun in that?"
"Hmmm. Maybe... Mom, why do we always have to have oatmeal?"
"It's just the way things are. Not only for us, but for everyone. But that's not important now. You better hurry. Your brothers will be getting up soon."
After a quick bowl of oatmeal, Alf scurried to the water basin that his mother prepared for the family every morning. He washed his arms, hands, and face thoroughly in the plain, warm water. After he finished, he meandered to the small bedroom which he shared with his two brothers. Today he was going to jump with the Olympic team of Norway. It didn't take long for Alf to get on his familiar woolen clothes.
It was a long trip over the snow-packed quiet streets to the great hill Alf would soon conquer. The merchants in his Norwegian town were busy in the streets. The small markets seemed desolate on this cold morning. Alf's mood however was bright and optimistic. His family was as humble as many of the other townspeople but they never lost their spirit.
"It's a long hike up," Sverre commented as they approached the mountain.
*******
Alf took a deep breath as he strapped on his skis. The toughened skier gazed down the hillside as the last Olympic star awed the crowd. Norway's Olympic team had just returned from a ski jumping sweep in the Olympics. At the age of eighteen, Alf had been too young to join the team this year, but it was tradition that the local boys be able to jump against the returning Olympians. It was a great day for the big jump. Many of the citizens of Norway had gathered to watch the spectacular event. The slow breeze froze as Alf positioned himself for the launch. The murmur of the crowed silenced as Alf made a lightning quick motion off the top of the hill. Every twist and turn came naturally as the accustomed jumper sped down the hill. It seemed no time at all before the great skier was soaring through the air. The noise of the crowd began to grow in amazement as he glided through the air. The people couldn't believe what they were seeing. It seemed that Alf would never land, but he did, and beyond where the Olympians had! The crowd cheered and whistled as Alf slid to a stop.
Alf knew immediately that he had won. He beamed in pride as he thought back to his early skiing childhood.
He had been taught to ski at the age of three by his young father. They often skied together. At 7 he was testing new jumps for other skiers. Alf was very muscular and
well built. He was somewhat tall at six feet. His pale blue-green eyes bit into the crowd as he thought back to the day of the greatest jump of his career.
It had been in 1926. He was standing at the top of a jump in front of 50,000 spectators. He had executed his best jump ever, and tied the jumping world record. The sixteen-year-old Alf, could only guess where his adventurous life would go.
The rest of the day was heroic and full for Alf. But unbeknownst to him, his time in Norway was almost over. His father, who had been their only provider, died in 1928 when Alf was only eighteen. The world economy was falling into what we now know as The Depression. Would Alf s promising career be washed down the drain? Alf prayed to himself that his last jump in Norway would not be his last jump. His mom worried also, not only for Alf, but his two brothers Karre and Sverre. She scraped every penny the small family had and decided to send Alf to America, hoping that he could manage to bring the rest of them over later. She was very sad and worried about him, for he knew no one in America.
THE THIRTIES ... DEPRESSION YEARS
By Brock Murray and Joseph Morse
By the 1930's, the United States and most of the world had gone into a state of depression. The stock market had collapsed, people had no money to spend and droughts had turned sections of the country into dust bowls. Farmers also contributed to dust bowls. Their plantless fields were vulnerable to even slight winds. With nothing to hold the soil down, the wind that roamed the prairies could lift the dry fields into the air.
The people of the mid-west feared when their children went to play on the desolate plains. During this poverty-stricken time, when people spent time outside, they often
had to wear gas masks to filter out the sand. The poor people lived every second of their lives with dust. They slept with dust; they cleaned the dust; and even ate the dust.
Jobs were scarce and many people didn't have a penny to their name. The jobs that were available went to grownups, leaving the young men of the country without a way to learn a trade. All of the parents were concerned for the welfare of the young men, so the president proposed that there be camps to get the young men working for pay from the army and the forest service. This program would be called the Civilian Conservation Corps.
During this time of world turmoil, there was still hope for people. Utah was not hit as hard as some of the other countries or states. In a northern part of Utah there was a band of visionaries who were planning to make Utah a Winter Wonder Land. The great ski jumper, Alf Engen, his brothers, the forest service and the community, along with a group of CCC boys did the unbelievable. They got support, manpower and vision to begin the Snow Basin Project. Most of the people in town did not think much of this for the simple reason that they thought that it was a rich man's sport. Even though the people in town had their differences about this idea, people still had to see it to believe it. There truly were people who could fly through the air or float down a mountain on two wooden boards. People flocked to watch this new sport of ski jumping.
When Alf Engen landed in New York, he found many opportunities. He found he could support himself well playing soccer and ski jumping - the two things he loved dearly.
