Along about January or February of 1929, someone offered a prize of $500.00 to anyone who could scale Balance Rock, secure a pole on its hard surface and attach a flag at the top.
The offer was a challenge to a group of young men at the time, primarily residing in North Helper in the area commonly referred to as Martin, the base of the Utah Railway operations in Carbon County. Under the leadership of Gordon Richardson and his assistant, Arthur Sandviken, two 20-year old adventurists, plans were made for meeting the challenge. Balance Rock stands atop the mountain on the north side of Helper, commonly referred to as “Steamboat Mountain” due to its resemblance to a steamboat.
Meeting during the frigid months of the winter of 1929 a young group of men, led by Richardson and Sandviken, assembled the necessary equipment for the expedition, tools and rope. On May 12, 1929, the challenge was launched.
About halfway up the mountain, the going became rough as could be, but the young men scaled a treacherous ledge to finally arrive at the top. There they faced a gap of 52 feet to the edge of Balance Rock. The rock is 185 feet from top to bottom and the wind terrific, a menace to their undertaking.
Richardson anchored one end of a long rope to a rock on top of the mountain across from Balance Rock and then tossed the rope across Balance Rock and down the far side. After four hours of testing, they felt it was secure and Richardson climbed the rope, Tarzan and vine style, to reach the top of Balance Rock. Once on top, he began chipping a hole for the erection of a flagpole. Equipment for which to work with was sent by a system of pulley ropes to Richardson by a brother of Gordon, Frank Richardson, all that remained for the group’s efforts was the pole.
Not to be discouraged, the young men sought Helper’s city council for a real silk flag to fly on their pole and the request was denied. They then turned to the railroad YMCA and they were given a 5×10 foot silk flag. Back up the mountain they went, banner and tools in hand. They added extra pipe to reinforce the original one and increase the height to 20 feet. The same five were joined by Chester Richardson and Rudy Felice as they hoisted the Stars and Stripes atop Balance Rock. Fourteen days later, all that remained of the silk flag was a wind torn mass of ribbons.
The group persisted in their efforts to place a permanent flag on Balance Rock. During the winter of 1929-30, Gordon Richardson was employed at the Utah Railway Shops in the round house at Martin and in his spare time he fashioned a 3×5, one inch thick flag of galvanized iron with a ball bearing system for revolving about the flagpole. On May 19, 1930, this latest flag was hoisted. Gordon Richardson was confident his creation would defy the elements. Forty eight hours after having been hoisted, the metal flag tumbled down the mountain side, the galvanized iron had split and only the 13 stars in the blue field remained.
Still not discouraged, the group vowed that something permanent had to be put on the pole at Balance Rock. Again they assembled and made plans for the next venture. They obtained a 100-gallon capacity oil drum from Bryner’s Service, a gasoline business operating at the corner of North Main and Bryner Street in Helper. They punctured the grease drum full of holes to lessen wind resistance and carried it up the mountain. They lowered the drum over the flag pole and filled it with rocks, hoping it would stay in place for a month or two. This, they said, would be finish to the flag pole project. It was estimated that the group had made at least 250 trips to the summit of Steamboat Mountain during the two year adventure.
This latest installation on Balance Rock proved to be of more than just a month or two existence, but remained on Balance Rock for over 50 years. On the 50th anniversary of the placement of the barrel, descendants of the Richardson’s and others in the original group came to Helper and as a group scaled Balance Rock one again. Unannounced and unaware to Helper residents, they ascended the mountain on the north side of Balance Rock, starting from the Hiener side of the mountain. They made their trek to the rock in the early 1980s, announced and to the surprise of Helper residents. Word quickly circulated about town, “Someone is on Balance Rock” bringing out residents to the streets throughout town with their binoculars. It was reported that the anniversary climb originated with Shirley Haycock, a long time resident of Spring Glen, and a daughter of Gordon Richardson.
Shirley had a long history herself as an adventurist, a trait she inherited from her father. She was one of the first women, if not the first, coal miner in the area. She had plans of floating the Atlantic Ocean on a canoe with her sons, as well as planning a walking tour to Alaska.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after the original group’s descendants made their anniversary climb to Balance Rock, other groups were inspired to make the climb.
These later climbers took the oil drum down, installed a flag of short endurance and the drum tumbled down the mountain side much like the iron flag. Helper City offered a reward for evidence of identifying those responsible for this to no avail. A landmark above Helper’s beloved Balance Rock was gone forever but the pole remains intact, clearly visible from anywhere in Helper.
It has long been said Balance Rock is a symbol of Helper City itself. At a time when 27 different languages were spoken on the streets of Helper by the many immigrants residing there, Balance Rock was and still is evidence of a “Community in Balance.”
Walt Borla
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