When I make a mistake, I do it front of 67,000 subscribers and many of them are happy to point out the error of my ways.
So today, by popular demand: A correction.
Castle Gate is very near the town of Helper. It is nowhere near the town of Heber.
I said Castle Gate was near Heber in a column last Tuesday about an old painting found in the basement of Ogden's Union Station. The back of the painting clearly says the painting shows Castle Gate near Helper, and I wrote Helper in my notes. But in the column I wrote Heber. Why?
I believe the technical term is "brain fart." My fingers typed Heber but my eyes saw Helper. Well, I do need new glasses.
Many helpful readers called. They were always nice, often amused, but also gently correcting. I happily agreed that, "Yeah, I'm a dope," and we had great fun talking about it.
George Kelly, in Brigham City, lived in Helper for 14 years.
"You know half of the Castle Gate was taken down in the 60s when they put the highway through there," he said. "Before they took the South Portal out, you could drive down the canyon and literally see the gate open and close."
Doug Harrop, Mountain Green, is a "35-year railroad man full of hot air," now retired and writing articles in railroad magazines. He's had about 200 published.
"I think you made a mistake," he began gently. "What really set me off is that north portal" shown in the painting. "As you probably know, the Castle Gate had a north and south portal and they blew up the south portal when they rebuilt Highway 6."
In addition to writing articles, Doug is slowly selling his collection of 35,000 slides of railroad scenes. He said some bring good money, and after seeing a few online, I believe him.
I got so many calls that I started telling folks "it's Helper, not Heber" before they could tell me.
Big mistake. "You're calling about Helper, not Heber," I told one caller and he said, "No, I'm calling about my grandfather, Hubert Bell."
I was gobsmacked.
The Heber/Helper trainwreck was the second half of that column. The first half described a plaque mounted over a drinking fountain in the grand hall at Union Station. The plaque honors Hubert Lloyd Bell, former superintendent of Union Station, who died in 1927.
The inscription says Bell was "a friend who will be remembered," but I said everyone had forgotten who he was until an obituary for H. L. "Harry" Bell, turned up.
I was wrong. The caller was Edwin Bell, of Farr West. He and his twin sister, Annette Jorgensen, of Ogden, are Bell's last living relatives and they remember him well.
Both remember visiting Union Station and seeing the plaque. "I've always wondered who I would talk to if they ever decide to take that plaque down," Edwin said.
Annette said the plaque is mounted over a drinking fountain because "my grandfather, when he'd go out on the road, he'd stop and get a drink. And when he came back he'd stop and get a drink." It became Harry's fountain, so that's where his fellow workers chose to remember him.
For those keeping count, we've now had Helper that's not Heber, Harry who was Hubert and two Bells who rang me up.
If I got any of them wrong I am positive someone will tell me.
Wasatch Rambler is the opinion of Charles Trentelman. You can call him at 801-625-4232 or e-mail ctrentelman@standard.net. He also blogs at www.standard.net.
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