Home

Looking Back

Steamboat Springs — From the Friday, July 20, 1934, edition of The Steamboat Pilot:

Boy accidentally drowns in Yampa River

Frank W. Potter, age 13, accidentally drowned in the Yampa River on Monday afternoon when he slipped into a deep hole about a mile west of the depot where he had been wading and swimming with a group of boys. Frank was not a good swimmer, and when he got into the deep water, he went under. Some of his companions attempted to bring him to the surface, but he pulled them into the water, and they were forced to go for help. The body was recovered a little before 6 p.m. when William Gossard succeeded in catching a hold of one of Potter's feet with a grappling hook. He and Jack Johnson located the body by swimming around in the vicinity of the accident. The water was murky, and it was difficult to see the bottom of the hole, which is estimated to be 12 feet deep.

Frank was born in Steamboat Springs on May 20, 1921, and had lived here all his life.

Young men wanted for CCC enrollment; apply at once

The county relief office has received word that a group of boys between the ages of 18 and 25 are wanted immediately for enrollment in the CCC camp for drought emergency work. These men are to be selected from Steamboat Springs and Oak Creek, and those who wish to enroll are requested to apply no later than Friday, July 20. Men who can cook are particularly wanted for enrollment.

It is urgent that application be made on Friday of this week. It is probable that between 40 and 50 men will be sent from Routt County. This is an opportunity for those boys and men who did not succeed in being placed in a camp at the two previous calls. Anyone who has served the allotted time in the CCC camp is not eligible for enrollment.

Be careful of forest fires these dry days

A forest ranger watched Jack Holden, of Toponas, squeeze the fire off his cigarette the other day. Someone standing by asked Jack why he did it, and Jack explained that it was just a habit perhaps, but it was the only way he could be sure that his cigarette butts would not start fires.

About a month ago, Atwood Harwig was working on the Fish Creek Falls trail to Long Lake. Shortly after a certain young tourist passed on the trail, Atwood came upon a smoldering patch of pine needles, already beginning to eat its way rapidly toward the nearby timber. On one side of the smoldering patch was found the charred outline of a cigarette butt.

On Wednesday, July 11, a smoker carelessly sowed the seed of destruction, and there was, unfortunately, no one following to nip it in the bud. A pipe heel or a cigarette was cast aside on Shorty Strugill's timber claim about half a mile from Charles McCoy's ranch house. At 11 p.m., a neighbor noticed the smoke as he was going home but failed to fire the alarm. At 3 a.m. the blazing trees illuminated the whole valley, and the roar of flames could be heard for miles. Now, the once beautiful Yarmony Mountain is a charred mass of desolation.

A warning to smokers: Diligent citizens are not always in your path to put out the fires caused by cigarettes or pipes. Also, every citizen should report a fire as soon as possible. Do your part by not starting a fire. Do your part by putting out a fire if you see one or by reporting a blaze that you cannot control. Help prevent forest fires.

Smokers cause a majority of the forest fires.