Modern Pioneers

As active members interested in preserving our valley from threats such as the Las Vegas water grab, Ken and I have been invited to share our perspectives of Snake Valley from time to time on this blog, so in this first blog, I'd like to introduce us.

My grandfather first came to Snake Valley as a miner in the 1930's and brought his wife and eight -soon to be nine- children with him. The first mine he leased was the Utah mine on the Fish Springs Range. The water at the mine was full of arsenic, so they hauled all their water from Callao 17 miles away. My mother was twelve years old at the time, but the need to preserve every drop of precious water made an indelible impact on her for the rest of her life. It may have been memories of hauling water which made homesteading in the valley, with water close to the surface, such an attractive proposition for my grandparents.

When Grandpa began homesteading in Snake Valley, he dug a "miner's well" with only hand tools. The well had a main shaft and "side drifts" to bring in more water. My first memory of that well was the nasty-tasting water. Although Snake Valley has delicious water, wells need to be significantly deeper than the top of the water table because the water close to the surface tastes of alkali.

I grew up raising tadpoles, catching frogs, collecting arrowheads, eating desert plants, and doing all the things desert children must have done for hundreds of years. I didn't live in a house with TV until I went to college. This has been a distinct handicap for playing Trivia, and I still amaze my husband with my lack of knowledge about early TV stars and shows.

Eventually, I met and married Ken who was raised in Tooele. Although he was a "city boy", Snake Valley had great appeal for him. He was interested in alternative energy and living "green" and he recognized the opportunity for experimentation. Our first great experiment was building our adobe home. It was hard work and has some limitations, but on the plus side, we never had a mortgage to pay off, and it has a very substantial feel.

We raised three children who spent their time raising tadpoles, making mud huts, and doing many of the things I did as a child. I continue to be amazed at the creativity desert life inspires in children. They are adept at finding entertainment in the smallest things and develop an appreciation of nature. Although our children have grown and have made their homes in other places, they stay closely connected to their original home.

Ken works part time at the West Desert High School and is pastor for a very small Christian congregation. I teach in one of the few remaining one-room schools in the country and am nearing retirement. Our school population has ebbed and flowed through the years, but we are now smaller than we have ever been since the Partoun school was established in 1949.

Snake Valley is made up of creative, determined, and self-sufficient people. The pioneer spirit that settled the west resides in the hearts of Snake Valley residents, and I am proud to be included in this small and select group of independent people. Preserving and protecting Snake Valley has become a very important issue for Ken and me. We are inheritors of a wonderful piece of nature and would like to pass it on to the next generation, so they can treasure it and benefit from it as we have.

Photo by Tom Nedreberg