A few loose ends piled up today:
• Richard Kotter, North Ogden, told me recently that Weber County’s grid address system is great but asked what point Weber’s streets are north, south, east and west of.
In Salt Lake County, the southeast corner of Temple Square is the point from which all streets count. There’s a formal plaque.
Kotter envisions “a quaint little mini-park,” in Weber, with “a shade tree, and a bench whereby I could sit and contemplate the importance, the significance, and the wisdom of this concept our pioneer forefather city planners used to create the practicability of this unique city structure.”
You wish.
Weber’s streets used to count out from Ogden’s LDS Temple. Mayor Fred Kiesel, a non-Mormon elected in 1889, tried to modernize the city by making it less religious. He renamed the streets after U.S. presidents and moved the address center-point away from the temple and closer to the county’s geographic center.
Where’s that center point?
Technically, there is no zero point. Val Shultz in the Weber County Surveyor’s Office told me that Wall Avenue is 100 and all east and west streets count out from there. North Street is 100, and all north and south streets count from there.
Where they cross is “it.”
To see the point, go to Wall and 2nd Street. Drive north and watch the mailboxes on the right. When you see one that says “110,” that is 110 South.
The next house north is “106.” Thayne Neil, whose family has lived at 110 South for decades, confirmed that his neighbor lives at 106 North.
The exact midpoint runs down an alley between those two houses. A survey company has pounded a nail in the sidewalk there.
But the alley and sidewalk are not “the point.”
To be precise, Kotter would have to build his park right in the middle of Wall Avenue, a place I don’t recommend sitting and contemplating anything but survival, especially at rush hour.
• Anyone got a truck they don’t need?
Your Community Connection’s Senior Life program’s handyman does repairs for old people and shut-ins. YCC Director Julee Smith said his truck died last week.
The repairs are beyond his skills and a replacement is desperately needed. A reliable pickup truck with a cover would be ideal, or even a van.
The donation would be tax deductible. Give Julee a call at 801-689-1703 if you can help.
• Last Tuesday I went to lunch with folks who went to Mound Fort School in the 1940s. They reminisced about Dover White Cliffs Confectionery, formerly at 12th and Washington and about which I’ve already done two columns.
Dixie Adams, whose father ran the shop, told a great story about her dad. The shop sold comic books, “and one day a young boy stole one, and my dad saw him but didn’t say anything.
“The next day the boy came back and my dad took one look at him and just pointed at the door, so the boy left. The next day he came back and my dad did the same thing, and every day after that. The boy would look in the window and my dad would just shake his head, ‘No.’
“Well, one day he came in to my dad, crying, and said he was so sorry and asking, please, what could he do to make up for it. I forget what my dad told him, but I think he had to sweep out for a week to work it off,” Adams said.
So much wiser than calling the cops. I bet that kid never stole again.
The Wasatch Rambler is the opinion of Charles Trentelman. He can be reached at 801-625-4232, or ctrentelman@standard.net. He also blogs at www.standard.net.
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