The Daily Herald from Provo, Utah • 187

Sunday, February 29, 1976, THE HERALD, Provo, Utah-Page 43C Mercur: Boom Day Memories water was too drinking expensive. By 1896, the year of Utah's the railroad had statehood, Mercur, and the come to Besides silver, whiskey and its boisterous life, Mercur was famous for something else it was the place where George H. Dem took his first job as a bookkeeper. He later became governor of Utah and Franklin D. Roosevelt's secretary of war.

Mr. Dem first started working as a bookkeeper in Mercur in 1872. By 1902 he was the general manager of the Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines Co. He was later elected to the state senate, then governor and finally named to the cabinet post in 1933, a position he held until his death in 1936. nicely until 1902 when someone "saw smoke coming out of the Preble Hotel," according to another source.

This time the fire destroyed the whole town. By evening all that remained of Mercur was smoking ruins. The town was never totally rebuilt. By 1913 most of the residents were gone. The $20 million ore body has been worked out.

All that remains now are the foundations of several mills and mines, settling ponds, mine shafts and other foundation materials. All building structures have long since vanished. population jumped from 400 to 6,000. A move was made to incorporate the town on statehood day, but a fire swept through the community leaving little to incorporate. When the fire struck, the "hook department" swung into action, because the town had no water, firefighters would take huge hooks and try to pry the burning sections away from the rest of the town.

In spite of the fire, the town survived and was running 1 ldS T-S. 1 IP tr- UIMWMM il III I I US JPW i tvTV ft 3 ay" ByDANCRQFT Today a few old walls stand at Mercur, but the only impressive marks of days gone by are the huge slag dumps. Streets were never a problem they just meandered wherever they pleased. During the 1890's Mercur was a live town. The fights were recounted with fervor.

One notable battle stands out between Soda Water Fred and Horse Jaw Kid. The object of the battle, of course, was Katie, the lovely waitress. Jack Schaefer, the proprietor of the Mercur Hotel, suggested the two fight it out in public with the winner taking the girl and the gate receipts. A dance hall was hired to serve as a ring. Mr Schaefer acted as referee and his partner, O.

Milner, tended the gate, according to one account. The fighters started slugging it out, and Mr. Schaefer was afraid the match would not last long enough to satisfy the customers. He asked Horse Jaw to lie down, but Soda Water, not hearing him, kept boring in until Horse Jaw claimed a foul. Schaefer let the foul go and Horse Jaw retaliated by quitting.

Staggering to the center of the ring, Horse Jaw yelled, "Milner took the money at the gate. Schaefer refereed the fight, and Soda Water owes Schaefer $20, so how in the hell can I win this fight?" Mr. Schaefer said of the bout in a later interview, "Katie was in cahoots with me on the deal. The fight ended with the gate of $20, and Soda Water and Horse Jaw lost out on the deal, girl and all." Katie, they said, married an easterner and was known in society from coast to coast. The town lived a tumultuous, rich but brief life.

Located beyond the Ophir Junction in the foothills of the Oquirrh Mountains, Mercur came to life in the 1860's when Colonel Patrick E. Conner's soldiers discovered silver ore in the canyon. Silver seekers fought their way into the new camp using every means possible, and stage companies ran six trips a day. News of the strike brought businessmen, gamblers, saloon keepers and the usual camp parasites. Building sprang up along the gulch, and the new town did a land office business.

Hotels did a great business, and if they missed extracting all the miners' money, the saloons and gambling houses finished the job. In 1880 the boom came to an end, and so did Mercur. In 1882 the Mercur lode, from which the town got its name, was found. It was a cinnabar or quick silver deposit and couldn't be mined with conventional gold mining methods. By 1883 the cyanide process was discovered, and Mercur hit the headlines again.

It was a shown in upper photo at right. The town survived this first fire in 1896, but the second, in 1902 (lower left) was too much for the community and a mass exodus ensued. Photo of Mercur ruins was taken from about the same spot as was the lower right photo showing the town intact. MERCUR, located in the mountains northwest of Fairfield, had its heyday several decades ago. The town's population would rise and fall with gold and silver strikes.

Photo at lower right shows Mercur as a substantial community, with the ore mill at upper left. One of two raging fires which swept through the mining boom town is ASSETS $2 3 ON Immunization Clinics Serve 12,096 Immunization clinics held at the City-County Health Department served 12,096 people during the past year, according to Dr. Seth E. Smoot, director. Immunizations given during the year totaled 22,364.

In addition, the health department have 2600 examinations for blood pressure, and 326 urinalysis tests. The child health conferences served 699 children, and 1105 immunizations were given during those clinics. The health department also gave 405 Pap smears and 700 chest X-rays on referral. sumers with our Timeway and BankAmericard services through which we loaned out $437 million last year. And we are finding new ways to be more useful to our customers through the introduction of new services such as Retire-amatic, Continuous Interest on savings, Individual Retirement Accounts, and newest of all, Timeway Simple Interest Loans.

With 132 banking offices throughout Utah and Idaho, and in Wyoming, serving your business and personal requirements in your own community and neighborhood, we are indeed big enough to help and small enough to care about you and your financial needs. A message from George S. Ecdes, Chairman Chief Executive Officer, and the over 3,000 people at First Security. that support it, is addressed to the over 500,000 present customers we are privileged to serve, and the many others who will be banking with us in the future. We want to assure you also of our gratitude, and our ability, and dedication to continue providing you up-to-date, useful, innovative, sate and secure banking services.

We intend to be worthy of your trust in the year ahead as we have been in the past. We count as part of our responsibility the obligation to meet the financing needs of agriculture and business, which we did last year in the amount of $1.5 billion; and with our mortgage servicing portfolio of over $1.17 billion, we are making a vital contribution to homeownership; and we intend to help meet trie needs of con What keeps First Security on the same track of strength, solidarity and profitability that we have been on since the Firs Security Corporation system of banks became an entity in 1928? Basically, it is a continuation of the sound banking practices, honest efforts and excellent judgment that characterized our individual predecessor banks which came together 48 years ago under the First Security Corporation banner. First Security is today the largest bankinq organization in the Intermounfain West with resources of over $2 billion. Our system is strong in assets, strong in reserves and strong in capital, with none of its strengths impaired by problem loans or unprofitable activities. This message, and the figures lively town, and oldtimers blamed the exuberance of the populace on the quality of Mercur's sidehill whiskey.

The citizens had to drink whiskey BYU Growth From One Faculty Members to Over 1000 December 31, 1975 (Unaudited) CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET SEVEN OTHER BANKS AND THESE SUBSIDIARIES First Security Insurance, Inc. First Security Life Ins. Co. of Tas First Security Company First Security Oatacorp. First Security Leasing Utah Mortgage Loan Corp.

Securities-lntermountain, Inc. (SIMCO) First Security Computer Center, Inc. 638,800,644 1,052,434,040 1,691,234,684 104.479,049 46,844.273 5.562,772 9.489.815 5.583.696 32,391,049 25.000.000 30.000.000 10.000,000 1,960,585,338 763,628 ASSETS 1975 Cash and Due From Banks 320.399,881 United States Government Securities 214,851,368 State and Municipal Securities 118.199.317 Other Securities 78.671.076 Trading Account Securities 4,148,120 Fed. Funds Sold Sec. Purchased Under Agreement to Resell 69,070.000 Loans and Discounts (Net ot Valuation Reserve ot $11,955,316) 1,190,446.94 2 Direct Lease Financing 27,380,100 Bank Premises, Furniture and Fixtures (Net After Depreciation) 38.902.073 Stock in Federal Reserve Bank 2.706,000 Investment in Non-Consolidated Subsidiary 2,149,807 Accrued Income Receivable 17,100,296 Other Real Estate (Net ot Valuation Reserve of $3,025,763) 11,504,084 Other Assets 10.625,828 TOTAL ASSETS $2,106,154,892 faculty of the University had grown to 56 full-time teachers.

When President Ernest L. Wilkinson took over in 1951, the faculty included about 250 full-time teachers in addition to part-time teachers and graduate students. At present in the administration of President Dallin H. Oaks there are over 1100 full-time faculty members, 66 percent of whom hold the doctor's degree from universities throughout the United States and abroad. Dr.

Karl G. Maeser was the only teacher when he took over the principalship of Brigham Young Academy in 1876. However, the student body grew rapidly, and by 1885 there were 400 students, and the faculty included stalwarts like Willard Done, James E. Talmage, Benjamin Cluff Jennie Tanner, and Joseph B. Keeler.

By 1915 under the administration of President George H. Brimhall, the RESOURCES First Security Corporation System of Banks LIABILITIES Deposits Demand Deposits Time Deposits Total Deposits Fed. Funds Purch. Sec. Sold Under Agreements to Repurch.

Commercial Paper Accrued Income Taxes Accrued Interest, etc. Other Liabilities Notes Payable Within One Year 7 Notes Due October 1, 1979 Floating Rate Notes Due 1999 Term Notes Due 1982-86 Total Liabilities Minority Equity Capital Funds: Prelerred Stock: $3.15 Cum. Conv. Series Outstanding 132,762 Shares Common Stockholders Equity: Common Stock Par Value $1.25 Outstanding 5,405,085 Shares Common Treasury Stock at Cost 40,705 Shares Surplus Total Common Stockholders Equity Stockholders Equity TOTAL LIABILITIES, AND CAPITAL FUNDS 2 BILLION 6.970.005 1 BILLION 500 MILLION 1 BILLION 6,756,356 132.173.961 137,835.921 144,605,926 $2,106,154,892 1 800 Enroll in USU Extension Basketball 4 500 MILLION 67 65 69 71 73 75 More than 1800 boys and girls were involved in the One-on-One basketball program sponsored during 1975 in Utah County by the athletic department of Utah State University and the Cooperative Extension Service. Leaders of the program believe this number can be doubled during 1976.

The One-on-One program is an athletic, health, safety, and sportsmanship program rolled into one, according to the sponsors. It is open to all youth, boys and girls, regardless of race, color, or natural origin. The ages are nine to 14 years, and the participants need not be member of the 4-H club, although it may serve as an introduction to 4-H work. Finals of the county program were held during February at Farrer Junior High School in Provo, with winners of the competition receiving ribbons and trophies. 4-H leaders report the program has gained substantially in Utah County since United Way has become a donor to the program.

More awards have been given than ever before, more trips have been taken by 4-H youth, and more people have beet, involved at less cost because of the contributions, they report. Banks and Subsidiary Companies.