Category: February/March 2017
Take it or Leave it: THE DEATH OF THE HANDWRITTEN JOURNAL?…by Jim Stiles
On the first day of 1892, my great-great grandmother, Mary Conrad Montfort, opened a thin leather-bound journal and turned to its first page. Dipping her pen into a small bottle of black ink she paused; then she began to write:…
Sowing Clover: Shaky Terrain in the Battle for Press Freedom…by Tonya Morton
This is, by all measures, a frightening time for American journalism. The press has a legitimate reason to fear a Trump presidency. Trump has expressed disdain for reporters, has called them “among the most dishonest human beings on earth.” He…
The Bears Ears Post-Mortem…by Jim Stiles
THE PROCLAMATION: On December 28, 2016, President Obama, by proclamation, designated 1.35 million acres of federally owned land in southeast Utah as “Bears Ears National Monument.” The President stated that he had taken this action, “to protect some of our…
Vlachos’ Views…Photos and Captions by Paul Vlachos
Paul Vlachos is a New Yorker who understands The West. And he is a New Yorker who understands New York. Wherever Paul goes, he finds signs of life… My team of dedicated professionals was looking through my photos, trying to…
THE UNSPOKEN BEARS EARS GOAL–CREATING AN URBANIZED NEW WEST (“BEHIND ENEMY LINES”)…By Jim Stiles
As the Bears Ears debate heated up last summer, monument proponents revealed sentiments that went far beyond support for a presidential proclamation. Again and again, the argument included a near unanimous loathing for the Rural West, especially the many small…
BYGONES & OBSOLETE STORIES… by Clark Phelps, antique man and collector of dreams
INTRODUCTION by JIM STILES Bill Benge was the best friend I’ve ever had. He came to Moab in the early 1970s and at 27, became the youngest elected county attorney in Utah history. He was a familiar face to all…
‘STILES’ TIME MACHINE’ (Return to Moab—February 1, 1973)…by Jim Stiles
Usually, even in the dead of winter, I like to rise early, stoke the fire in the woodstove, get some coffee going and gaze out the kitchen window at my beloved Moab Valley. Winters here are usually tolerable, at least…
An Excerpt From ‘LAST OF THE ROBBERS ROOST OUTLAWS: Moab’s BILL TIBBETTS’, PART 10…By Tom McCourt
THANKS to Tom McCourt & the Tibbetts Family. For years, I have been watching Moab move farther and farther away from its roots, to the point where it seems few people even know the history of the place anymore. Some…
From the Boom to the Boomers: Another view of the Uranium Boom Days of the 1950s and how Life has changed, Part 2…by Irene Thill
From The Zephyr archives, in 2004 Irene Thill shared her memories of Moab of half a century ago and into the Uranium Boom. A year later, she ‘wrapped things up’ with this last installment. Irene died in 2008—I wonder what…