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Memories Not Forgotten
My earliest memories are of Copperfield. Until I was three years old, I lived in Terrace Heights. When we moved to Copperton in 1953, I told my mother I was not leaving the grass in our new yard because someone may steal it. Copperfield was dirt and rock, grass was non-existent, and our front yard had a drop-off or what was called a level. I used to swing from the cable that was on the edge of the level, and one time my grip slipped. I rolled down the rocky cliff into the neighbors' back yard. They took me home and I remember having rocks picked out of my skin with tweezers by my mom.
The road to our house in Copperfield was steep, and I always worried that the car would not make it up the hill and would start rolling backward. My brother skated off the wall in the elementary school yard and injured his head. I believe that hearing about my brother's injury, my fall, and the fact that our car could hardly make the steep road to our house gave me the image of rolling out of control into the hill.
We had a place to eat in town, that was the smallest cafe in the world (or so I was told). Joe Berger was co-owner of "The Combination". Joe's grill was really a trailer, and served some unusual things. Rattlesnake was an item that everyone remembers. Joe inspired my dad, and I think one tried to out-do the other. My dad boiled horse hoofs for days to make glue, and our house smelled terrible until he gave up the idea. We loved beet greens, but sugar beet tops are not edible. I know this because my dad cooked sugar beet greens and made us all sick. I think my dad and Joe Berger were very similar, and without my mother keeping him in line my dad would have had many more mishaps in the kitchen. A few days before my dad died, he told me that Joe Berger had come to see him. Joe had been gone for some time, but it made sense to me that he would greet my dad in the hereafter. I picture the two of them thinking up all kinds of mischief.
I sometimes stayed with my brother's family who lived in Cooks apartments in Bingham. The comforting smells of the different foods each family was preparing permeated the hallways. The curfew would sound every night, and any kid who was outside hit the ground so the police would not see them when they drove by. I am sure the police thought this very funny, and we certainly were noticed.
Close ties between Copperton and Bingham Canyon residents continued until nothing was left of the towns above us. Our elementary school in Copperton was used by the canyon residents. Every year different children showed up in class. When classes in the canyon were too small to warrant a teacher, they were incorporated with the Copperton group. Our community was very diverse, and teasing someone because they were different from you would mean you had no one to play with, so it just didn't happen.
Going to the Gemmell Club around Christmas was sponsored by the company (Utah Copper, or later Kennecott Copper Corporation). Santa Claus would visit, and each child had the chance to sit on his lap. We were treated to a stocking full of hard candy and gum drops, with one orange. I remember the orange was sweeter than the candy. A friend mentioned that to me not too long ago, so I know it was not my imagination.
The local bars were always busy. I remember waiting in the car with candy and a soda while my dad had a drink inside. Oh yes, the bar had a candy counter just inside the door, which made perfect sense back then.
My cousin told me that when my dad was around 3 or 4 years old, they would put him on the bar and he would get paid to swear. I wonder why no one paid him to stop swearing? His lisp made the miners laugh, and he knew a lot of swear words.
The 4th of July celebration in Bingham was great! Running races up hill was not easy, and I never won. The celebration was moved to Copperton, and over the years has become a shadow of what it used to be. Fireworks were shot from the side of the hill, with people watching from their parked cars. Halloween was filled with pranks, and it never paid to not be at home on that holiday. It seemed everyone worked hard, and also knew how to have a good time.
When Bingham was almost gone, we would check out the canyon at least once a week. I was filled with sadness every time, because a different house or landmark would be missing. I think it was a form of mourning we went through, but with disbelief.
When I met my husband, I suddenly realized that growing up around so many different ethnic groups was similar to New York. Bob is from Brooklyn, and the stories he tells are so familiar that I feel we grew up together. I went to three different churches as a child, and never really narrowed it down to only one. Bingham Canyon was unique from the other places in the surrounding area in that religion was diverse, countries of origin were many, and friendships were formed because everyone lived so close together. We usually had nothing in common. Our differences were what we admired in each other. I would give anything to be with the people I remember as so full of life, and ready for . . . !