OGDEN -- While the Occupy Ogden camp shrinks, life is starting to look up for its remaining members.
The camp used to sprawl along the whole northern side of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ogden on 23rd Street, with at least two dozen members.
Now Talan Wilhelm and a black cat, Muffin, are the last regulars of the Occupy Ogden camp, though at least a dozen other people still help out in some capacity, such as planning or attending protests.
"It's just me. It's kinda quiet," Wilhelm said while standing in the middle of seven tents set up for members who want to stay awhile.
But soon even he may not be sleeping in a tent each night as a regular at the northeast corner of the church.
Wilhelm might start a new job the first week of January as a trucker -- which is what he did before he was unemployed and with the Occupy movement -- if the employer chooses to hire him.
Beyond that point, the future of the camp is uncertain. But change is nothing new for an Occupy camp that has fluctuated in the two months since it started.
There's a donated Christmas tree in the center of the snowy camp. A few ball ornaments have "99%" written on them in black marker.
Among the ornaments is a heart-shaped picture of a former Occupy Salt Lake member known as Mike, a homeless man whose death spurred the city into shutting that camp down.
At least a dozen of the protesters joined Occupy Ogden after police evicted them from Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City.
It was a large influx for the Ogden camp, which had started as only a handful of people and two cats, Muffin and Occupy.
But in the past few weeks, some members had to leave because of the camp's strict rule against drugs. Others simply packed up and left.
A few part-time members still come by, including Lauren Marietta, who was at the camp on Christmas. He and Wilhelm weren't with their families on the holiday but had each other for company.
Wilhelm pulled a new Stanley brand multitool out of his pocket to show his friend. It was a gift from the Rev. Theresa Novak, the minister of the church.
"It's the first (Christmas) gift I've received in, oh, eight or nine years," he said.
A stranger had also come up to him that day and given him a used pair of boots.
He also has the gift of his new potential job, which he found out about two days ago.
Marietta also recently got his old job back at Focus Services Inc., a telemarketing company.
Even Occupy, the stray cat, has found a new owner and a warm house to call home.
Wilhelm plans to drop by the camp whenever his job brings him through the area.
A separate Occupy movement sprang up at Weber State University earlier this month, but Wilhelm said they want to stay separate from Occupy Ogden.
"It's transitioned from locals to college students," Wilhelm said. "Things change. Some things merge from one to another and fall out of place."
Occupy Ogden still finds support for the movement from the public. A few people came by on Christmas to drop off canned food for them, and a bicyclist stopped to encourage them and talk politics.
If the camp continues after early January, they are still looking for a place to go. Their time at the church ends in March, Wilhelm said.
The members are planning on a general assembly meeting Jan. 3 to discuss the current state of affairs and the future of the camp.
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