A BOY FROM LARK by CAL CRUMP

Cal Crump

My Life

By Cal

I was born in Lark, Utah and lived there until I was 22.  I spent a lot of time in my growing up years, hiking and exploring the hills surrounding the town.   We played a lot of touch football and softball on the street in front of my house.  The other games we played were marbles, kick-the –can, ante-i-over, rubber guns and can-the-can.  We also spent a lot of time playing hoops and hitting balls in my driveway with my brother, Dale.  Down at the sand dam, the challenge was to climb to the top of the old mill and walk across the old trestle. 

I had a paper route for 10 years and spent a lot of time being a handy man around the Lark Merc.  Like a lot of the others, I started working at Kennecott at 16 and I enjoyed working weekends and summers there.

After graduating from Bingham, I went to BYU and received my degree in 1951.

Baseball was my love…..from summer ball park to high school and American Legion all with Baily Sanisteven.  I played baseball at BYU, with the Bingham Amateur League and semi-pro teams.  When I was in the Navy I played in the Newport, Rode island team.   

In June od 1951, I married Gwen Sandstrom from Lark.   In August we went into the Navy for two years.  Boot Camp was in San Diego and then we were sent to Hospital Corp School in Baltimore, MD.  When I graduated from there we were transferred to New Port, RI.  Our first son, Scott was born in Newport.  We had some good experiences, being on our own so far from home.

After our Navy time, we came home and started working for KCC on the track-shifters and the line cars.  A year later, Baily Sanisteven passed away and I applied for the teaching and coaching job at Bingham High.  This was a dream come true for me and I spent the next 36 years at Bingham.  I was teaching and coaching for 16 years, a counselor for four and 16 years as the Vocational Coordinator.  I went on a lot of nice trips while in the vocational area.  In 1990 I retired from Bingham with a lot of memories.  Before I left, I received  a very nice honor of being inducted into the Bingham High Pay Dirt Club.

Cal white shirt front

After Scott was born, Gwen and I had three more children…. A son, Russell and two daughters, Tammy and Cindy.  They are all in the field of education.  We are very proud of them and especially our 11 grandchildren, ranging in age from 18 to one year in age.Since we retired, we are enjoying our family and our 5^th wheel. In the summer we do some camping at Wasatch State Park and various other places and for the last four years we have spent our winters in St. George.  We have lived in Copperton for 44 years and after 39 years I am still taking care of the Copperton Park.  I do enjoy working there.

I am involved on Committees at the high school and I still attend o lot of athletic events.  I like working with flowers and plants in the greenhouse in the winter and in the yard in the summer.  I spent six years on the town council and I am an active member of the Lions Club.  As a member of the Copperton Ward, I have held all the positions, including Bishop.

 I am proud to say I’m from Bingham and will always be a true blue and white Miner.  My favorite Bingham teachers were, Miss Baer, J.W. Bingham, Sonny Allsop, and B.J. Sanisteven.

CLYDE CRUMP

Cal’s Father tells a Story

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In Lark’s early years, there were three saloons in town to accommodate the drinking miners.  Evidently this brought on a need for police control at times.  In 1919, prohibition was made law in the United States.  Throughout the country men that liked alcohol and drinking began making their own wines and beer even though this was against the law.  There were secret stills in most every town and bootlegging was common practice.

  In 1929 Clyde Crump was called to Lark to be the sheriff for four years.  Clyde said most of his work was getting leads on distilleries and then raiding them.  There were stills in Kuephaldt’s fields, a couple down the gulch and some over in the ditches where Bastian’s ranch is now.  At this time a Lark man named Wally Blackburn was hauling freight in to Lark when a load of grapes came on the freight.  Clyde knew the distilleries would be working to make Daigo red wine and the bootlegging business would be booming.  Some bootleggers were tipped off and their stills were then hidden so well that Clyde could not find them.  Many of those who were arrested and brought to court were just turned loose.  Clyde carried a gun as all sheriffs do. 

Pay days in Bingham were “big days” for Clyde, because every pay day he was called on duty at Bingham.  Bingham had many different nationalities working in the mines there and it was really a rough mining town in its earl years. 

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As far as law and order goes, one could go for a whole week and never lock a door.  People never missed anything.  The people were law abiding and respected other people’s rights and property.  It was not until Lark Heights were built in 1942 that any lawlessness occurred.  Then people from different parts of the country came in and often would work only three to eight months. This was just enough time to get some money to move on.  These people caused trouble in our town.  Before this time, Joe Highland and other superintendents would only hire the better caliber of people. 

During the depression years 1929-1933 the Lark mine worked regular time with no cuts in pay.  Most everywhere else working days and were cut or stopped completely, putting thousands of men out of jobs.  Lark was a blessed exception to this. 

Lark’s Substitute Park

Most all the other mining towns sat in a canyon but Lark sat high and dry.     Butterfield Canyon, just a few short miles to the south of Lark, was a beautiful heavily wooded green canyon, with stately pines, birch and maple trees everywhere.  Low shrubs, elderberry, and a variety of other kinds of bushes are also found in the canyon.  A clear cold water stream flowed down the middle.  Lark residents used and enjoyed it frequently during all seasons of the year.  There was no pollution in the canyon until 1950, when people began getting careless.