By Julie Johansen
Castle Valley Outdoors Ranch was the setting for the annual Emery County Historical Society cowboy poetry gathering on Thursday evening. Each year, a Preservation of History Award is given at this event. Eldon Miller was the recipient of the 2021 award.
Miller has lived in at least seven towns in the Castle Valley area. He began in Clawson, the son of Julia Emmaline Tucker and Frank Miller. He then lived in five of the small coal mining towns in Spring Canyon and never spent a full year in any one school. He later lived in Sunnyside but claims Hiawatha as his hometown. Eldon later moved back to Clawson with his family.
Eldon has written and published a book entitled “Hiawatha Memories” that is full of memories, facts and photos. He also has contributed many memories and photos to the Emery County Archives that are being scanned into that memory bank. The photos are unique in that they also include the names of the people in the photos. Eldon was presented a plaque by Edward Geary and thanked for his contributions to preserving the history of Emery County.
The evening was filled with song and poetry for the members of the historical society. Sam Deelux, David Andersen and Thatch Elmer entertained for a couple of hours. Deelux was a requested repeat performer. Some of her poetry is original but she also favors classical cowboy poetry. David Anderson also sings songs from well-known performers and some originals. Thatch, a 16-year-old poet, has been recognized because of his presentations of classical poems. The evening was capped off with refreshments for the guests.
The next meeting for the historical society will be Thursday, Sept. 23, at Cleveland City Park at 6:30 p.m. Plans are to tour the Olsen Historical village in Cleveland and then return to the park for a barbecue. Society members are inviting guests to furnish potluck offerings to add to the hotdogs and buns provided by the society.
