EDITOR'S
NOTE
A LOOK BACK AT CACHE VALLEY
They
say you can't judge a book by it's cover. And apparently
the same holds true for a book without a cover.
During a recent visit to the
home of Hyrum historian Ted Kindred, I was presented
with a book entitled "Immigrant Labor Report for
Utah 1913-1914" that had been published by the
State Bureau of Immigration, Labor and Statistics. Considering
the massive number of volumes that cover nearly every
available foot of floor space in Kindred's home, I have
to admit to being a little underwhelmed by the seemingly
dry nature of the book.
Then I opened it. And things
got even drier.
Every county in Utah was given
a chance to present itself in the best possible light,
but the majority of the listings were simply the types
of facts and figures one might find in an encyclopedia
or almanac: "Carbon County became a separate political
unit on March 8, 1894, after previously being part of
Emery County ..."
However, once I encountered
Cache County, the tone of the material became far different.
"Cache County, the northernmost
county in the state, is one of Utah's most picturesque
and productive sections. Surrounded completely by the
great walls of the Wasatch Mountains, it is a variable
Eden and gloriously wealthy in scenic wonder and abundantly
yielding fields. Away from the main line of continental
travel, its advantages have not become known to the
world until recent years when it's fame carried it across
the border of state lines and beckoned the toiler of
far less promising and productive fields to cast his
lot in the valley where health, wealth and beauty abound."
Wow. I couldn't help but be
stunned by the ornate — and might I say, accurate
— prose. And, as I certainly should have already
done as a writer myself, I finally snuck a peek at the
name of the author: Hon. Herschel Bullen Jr.
A prominent native of Cache
Valley who was involved in politics, education and financial
endeavors, Bullen continued: "Cache has an area
of 1,181 square miles, aggregating an acreage of 755,840.
Much of this area is mountainous, the valley itself
being about 10 miles in width by 40 miles in length.
It is perhaps the best watered section of Utah. A score
or more of mountain streams flowing forth a crystal
fluid over the fertile valley."
After several more paragraphs
of praise for Cache County, ("Its sons are impetuous
like rushing rivers, stalwart and rugged like its mountain
heights, warm-hearted like its sunny slopes, and enterprising,
practical and strong"), Bullen wrapped up his section
with the following evaluation: "Cache County's
cities and towns are up-to-date. They have all the improvements
and conveniences known to modern living, and they are
inhabited by tolerant and ambitious people, all boosting
for the city, county and state in which they live."
Nearly a century later, I have
to say little has changed in Cache Valley. And it's
even easier to see why Kindred went to all the trouble
of securing the little book with no cover and a boring
title.
"No matter what the condition,
that book's worth keeping," he noted.
Jeff Hunter, editor
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