Podcast to feature Logan Canyon myths
The stories of Logan Canyon will be told through a podcast series from Stokes Nature Center in 2011. The program will include 15 podcasts explaining the history and lore of various Logan Canyon sites, which participants can listen to while at the locations.
“I haven’t seen most of the areas she talked about in my time in the canyon, so I think it would be interesting to actually listen to the story while at the sites,” said Kelly Goonan, human dimensions of ecosystem science and management graduate student.
Elaine Thatcher, program coordinator of the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies, gave a lecture Thursday about the stories covered by this program at the Merrill-Cazier Library.
“Telling stories gives you a sense of place and makes you feel you belong,” said Annalisa Paul, director of operations at the Stokes Nature center, “so many people in the community are interested in history. We wanted to find a compelling way to share these stories.”
Paul said the series could benefit USU students both socially and academically.
Thatcher said Logan canyon was supposedly named for Ephraim Logan, a fur trapper from St. Louis. She said there is another theory that Logan canyon and city were named after Omaha Native American Logan Fontenelle, who had a friendly relationship with the LDS leadership of the time.
Thatcher also gave a history of the nunnery. St. Anne’s Retreat, formerly owned by the Catholic Church, was a summer haven for nun. Thatcher said there is no evidence of the common belief that it was a retreat for pregnant nuns or that a child was drowned there. However, she acknowledged that in 1997 several teenagers trespassed on the private nunnery grounds. Guards captured these teenagers and held them captive in an empty swimming pool. The guards later received criminal charges. Thatcher attributed most of the legends about the nunnery to “xenophobia.”
Thatcher then explained the story of the Bear Lake Monster. She said Paris, Idaho resident Thomas Sleight claimed to have seen the monster swimming at great speeds and eating sheep and barbed wire. Thatcher said witnesses described the monster variously as brown, green, hairy, and scaly. The sightings caused a panic and between 1868-70 gun sales “skyrocketed.”
Thatcher also told the story of Old Ephraim, who was a supposedly a 9 feet, 11 inches tall grizzly bear that preyed on sheep in Logan Canyon. Frank Clark, a sheepherder, killed the bear in 1923. Thatcher said Clark described the bear’s roar upon being trapped as an “awful roar of mingled pain and misery.” Clark then skinned and burned the carcass. There is now a monument constructed at the grave site.
While many assume Tony Grove is given its name after a man named Tony, Thatcher said this is not the case. The Tony Grove area was a very popular vacation spot for wealthy Logan residents. Workers in Logan canyon referred to these “high-toned” vacationers as “tonies,” Thatcher said. This term resulted in the area’s current name.
The Utah Humanities Council funded the podcast series. Paul said podcasts and maps will be free to the public.
“I’m not originally from this area, so I thought this would be an interesting way to connect with the city,” Goonan said.
– rouchellebrockman@gmail.com