The Daily Spectrum from Saint George, Utah • 34

TTTtUT tty -W J1 V- v- 2 Wednesday, September 22, 2004 The Spectrum PEOPLE AND PLACES AUTOS Continued from Page 1 Liz Str ii 'km JL i car owners. Bartlett C. Farnsworth is one example. In 1922, he was elected to the Washington County School Board, which required monthly trips to St. George.

He served in this position for the next 16 years, yet never owned a car. Each month he hired someone, usually his neighbor, Lee Piatt, to drive him to St. George for $5 a trip. In Hurricane, another rural Southern Utah town, it was not until around 1915 that residents reported seeing their first automobile. According to young Alice Isom Gubler Stratton, it came roaring, popping and chugging into town "laying a trail of dust (and) puffing clouds of smoke from its rear'' The auto "made terrible noise and smelled awful, but it ran without horses.

The wheels had wooden spokes, were smaller than wagon wheels and had rubber tires." It was driven by Mr. Fox, who "had a mole on his right cheek with three hairs sticking out." He offered rides for 10 cents a mile. Alice's grandma gave her a dime and she hopped in the front seat by Mr. Fox. When the short-lived adventure was over Stratton remembered, her biggest thought was: "My how I wished I had another dime!" The coming of the automobile meant more than 10-cent rides to Hurricane's businesses.

Entrepreneur Charles Petty responded by installing "a new gasoline tank in front of his store to be" used for the refilling of automobiles." It was not long before "quite a number" of Hurricane residents owned their own horseless carriages. Eighteen such vehicles jolted along the city streets by 1918. With the tourist travel also "streaming" through town, Walter Stout and Stanley Bradshaw felt it was time to provide Hurricane with repair services. opened a garage that, according to the county news, quickly became "a credit to the town." In 1919 Stout expanded the garage to offer new cars for sale. Of his initial shipment of Chevrolet cars, all but one sold within the first week and Stout promptly ordered more "to meet the growing demand for the snappy car." So popular were automobiles in the United States that in the late 1920s Americans owned more cars than indoor bathrooms.

In Southern Utah, the story was no different. While car ownership continued to increase in Hurricane and Enterprise, outj-houses prevailed even into the A trip through Zion National Park shows nature's finery as it prepares for the onset of winter in fr.YtYY ri iiA tt rs. rV- At-'T f'l JrSsW M' if 4-4 L4 tf lid l. il a-'-l-f Y- i 11 A 5tt5 Breaker." He recalled, "Whenever we went anywhere we would hitch the (horse) team to the white topped buggy and took them along with us so if we had any trouble we wouldn't be stranded. I remember one time we went to Modena and had trouble with the car, it just wouldn't go so we went on (to town) in the buggy.

On our way back we towed (the car) back to the ranch." Bowler soon traded his Studebaker for a "brand new" Oakland with lights. But this car, too, proved troublesome. On one trip to St George, the car's lights went out and Bowler was forced to finish the trip in the dark. Before long he traded the Oakland and wrote: "from then on it seemed like I traded cars all the time." Joseph (Doad) E. Jones was another early car owner in Enterprise.

Caught up in the excitement of the new technology, he and his brother, Fred, traveled to Cedar City to buy an automobile. Their return trip in the unfamiliar vehicle proved adventurous. According to family tradition, "on the way home over twisted, rutted roads, the riding was pretty rough. They were going along at a pretty good speed (for those days) and Fred said, 'That's fast enough for and Doad, with his hands gripping the wheel, and eyes straight ahead, said, 'That's fast enough for me, too, but I can't stop the darned On the next return they rolled the car over but no one was hurt and they did finally get the car home." Charles Henry Barnum had similar difficulty with his first car, a Model T. He ran into several ditches and many gates learning to drive but eventually became adept at handling the car.

Perhaps it was the fear of having similar experiences that kept some Enterprise residents from joining the growing number of Surfing? Catch The Spectrum online www.thespectrum.com Put exverience and wisdom to work for you Carol Beardall GR, CRS, CRB, Broker 4S. 2600W.4B Hurricane, Utah 84737 Ofrfice: 435-635-4567 Cell 435-632-4416 Fax 435-635-3547 accessutahinfowesi.com B8B til js Doggy Do 470 State St. Located at the wr ha itc Call Tina 635 nil Pet Let a little they 4 II. Meg Cady The Spectrum Southern Utah' high country. Meg Cady The Spectrum Meg Cady The Spectrum What's on your mind? We want to hear from you.

If you have a news tip or a question for our Answer Line, call The SpectrumDaily News Hotline. While we do not require you to leave your name and phone number, they can be useful if you want one of us to get back with you Reader's Hotline (435) 674-6270 Do you know what women want? Call Marie at 674-6221 to learn more about the expo. Forever Friends Cremation Service Contact Lisa Van Valkenburg 435.619.9600 the passing of your pet be more bearable, in knowing wil be near you always. FALL ContinuedfrorriPage get to see much after that point. I had rjo idea where I was going; I just kept driving on this road through some of the most fantastic scenery I've seen.

Finally, I came to a town, which I later learned was Virgin. If you ever have some free time, it's well worth a daylong trip to check out the effect of fall on the mountains. I took my camera and got some great shots, which made my little adventure all the more interesting. And if you're like me and haven't taken the time to check out the fall colors before, take the opportunity to do it this year. Take some friends or grab your family members, pack a lunch and your camera and head out.

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