In order to follow the history of the exploration and development of the Big Indian mining district it is necessary to understand a few things about the geology of the uranium ore deposits that were found after Charlie Steen discovered…
A few days after the Denver Post published its closely worded story about my father’s Big Indian uranium discovery, Moab’s Times-Independent ran an article based on the same announcement that Dad had given to the Denver newspaper. Although the Times-Independent…
CHARLIE STEEN’S youngest son ‘sets the record straight’ about the Life & Times of Moab’s Most Famous Prospector At the beginning of my first article in The Zephyr about my father, Charlie Steen, and his discovery of the Mi Vida…
CHARLIE STEEN’S youngest son ‘sets the record straight’ about the Life & Times of Moab’s Most Famous Prospector My father, Charlie Steen, has always maintained that the truth about his discovery of the Mi Vida mine and its consequences is…
Uranium fever became a national affliction when Steen announced his strike. Go-for-broke prospectors poured into the little town of Moab by the thousands, lured by the $100 million bait. The town was besieged by a boom which was to surpass the gold rushes of the previous century.
Hopeful investors, loan sharks, and promoters followed the prospectors in. New businesses set up wherever they could find room, on the Main Street drag, in private garages or in tents. One realty firm operated from a tiny log cabin which was the revered historical home of an early-day pioneer. Moab’s new slogan, “Uranium Capitol of the World,” was splashed on store fronts, stationery and souvenirs. The town sported a Uranium Building and a Uranium Days Celebration. The term “uraniumaires” was coined to identify the new mining magnates. Someone finally got around to dubbing Charles A Steen the “Uranium King of the World,” and the title stuck.
In the Navajo country, just south of Monument Valley, is the bustling town of Kayenta, Arizona. Kayenta is a unique place, not just because of the amazing landscape that surrounds it, but also because of the rich heritage of the…
EDITORS NOTE: For almost twenty years, the “DOG OF THE MONTH” was one of The Zephyr’s most popular regular features. When the print version ended, so did the dogs, but now we’ve been thinking it’s time for a Renaissance of…
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT…Jim Stiles A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE DAVIDSON/SMELT/TAYO INC LAW SUIT ‘SERIOUSLY. IT’S TIME FOR ‘NONE OF THE ABOVE’” SOWING CLOVER…Tonya Stiles THE LAST AMERICAN SLAVES ‘BEFORE & AFTER’…1940 & 2016 The Junction of US 191…
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT…JIM STILES THE WAY IT IS THIS MORNING… August 1 1936 DATELINE / MOAB, UTAH SOWING CLOVER…TONYA STILES ‘MY PROBLEM WITH ENVIRONMENTALISTS’ BEFORE & AFTER Utah Highway 95 in North Wash…1959 & 2016 “Before” image by…
THE EVOLUTION OF TAYO INC. & THE CITY OF MOAB—(And a Final Observation)…by Jim Stiles TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT…Jim Stiles LYNN JACKSON & TRANSPARENCY FOR ALL… SOWING CLOVER…Tonya Stiles I LOVE THIS PLACE BEFORE & AFTER Arches National Park…