Thomas Wolfe published in his short book, Western Journal, jottings he made during a 13-day trip by car through eight western states, summer of 1938. The section concerning Cache valley follows:
. . . and down the canyons toward Logan – and now the greatest beauty of the day – the swift mounting up the canyon among bold and greening knobs, a sense of grandeur, sweetness and familiarity, and suddenly, cupped in the rim of bold hills, a magic valley plain, flat as a floor and green as heaven and more.
Fertile and more ripe than the Promised land then down and winding down the lovely canyon and cattle, horses, and houses sheltered by the trees, and then below the most lovely and enchanted valley of them all – the great valley around Logan – a valley that makes all that has gone before fade to nothing – the very core and fruit of Canaan – a vast sweet plain of unimaginable riches – loaded with fruit, lusty with cherry orchards, green with its thick and lush fertility and dotted everywhere with the beauty of incredible trees – clumped cottonwoods and lines and windbreaks of incredible poplars – a land of peace and promises of plenty – and then Logan, a thriving, light town, blazing with electric light and an air of cheerfulness – the fresh bungalows and cottages and the more expensive houses.
Today the living conditions in Cache valley and Logan are sprawl, air pollution, light pollution, noise pollution, people and traffic congestion, and crime. Fellow Saunterers, ponder the following questions (and add your own):
Have the past 67 years seen a rise or a decline in the valley’s living conditions? If a decline, why? Could it have been prevented? Should it have? How many incredible trees equal one Wal-Mart? Is the cause of the change more because of the people or because of government? What is progress?
Visting Cache Valley after a 25 year absence, it's clear to me that you can't go home again.
And I almost wish I hadn't tried.
I found one part of Cache Valley that remains more or less the same. And perhaps the newly-dreaded mosquitoes will keep it that way.
Posted by: Mark Rasmussen | November 04, 2005 at 10:21 PM
Living in Cache Valley I ponder these questions daily. Yes. The valley is in decline. Local governments and the people alike share the blame.
The highway between Logan and Smithfield, for example, is a tribute to mediocrity, bad taste, and poor planning. Local officials have little imagination. They failed to study examples of good planning for similar corridors in other parts of the U.S. They should have applied stricter zoning laws and more progressive planning to provide better ingress and egress to the main highway, attractive landscaping, and required fully shielded outdoor lighting on all commercial buildings and parking lots to prevent light pollution. My observation, having served in local government, is that our officials are reluctant to find and study other communities, outside of Cache Valley that have found better solutions to the problems common to all growing cities. This is a community that still opposes emission testing on automobiles.
The people are to blame because they do not expect and demand better. Voter turnout is low for municipal elections. Planning experts and landscape architects from the nearby university are not serving on local planning commissions. Parents provide four wheelers for their children to drive up and down the dirt roads on the nearby national forest. The left hand fork of Blacksmith Canyon has been trashed by motorized recreation.
Not all, however, is lost. Three cities in the valley have adopted dark sky lighting ordinances. There is lots of solitude and beauty to be found on the nearby national forest. The view from the middle of the valley is unsurpassed. At least one large site in the middle of the valley has been changed from a dumping ground to a fully functioning wetland filled with wildlife.
You ask, "How many incredible trees equal one Wal-Mart?" Wal-Marts are a dime a dozen. An incredible tree is priceless.
Posted by: Michael Jablonski | November 06, 2005 at 06:49 PM