Heber Valley Gun Club

The bible is has many stories and they have a purpose because we learn from a story and can relate to it always. With that in mind I would like to tell another story for those that would take the time to read.

At sixteen years old I found my attention was hunting ducks. I would walk for miles and that is not an exaggeration by any means. I would walk and when a duck would come up I would shoot and miss. Finding all this walking and then not be able to hit was getting to me. How was I to learn to shoot and hit something? Only way to get practice is walk more. Telling Floyd Tadd a friend and school mate this he suggested I go down to the airport in Heber and shoot trap until I could hit a target. No walking, just yell pull and a duck (clay pigeon) would appear.

Ellis Clyde had an old mechanical trap that had a pipe running to the machine that threw the targets into the air. We had to put heat on the pipe because it was frozen and would not move.

We would sign up and pay to shoot five targets then when our turn came we would do it again. Floyd shot a good score, and I if memory serves me right he had hit twenty out of twenty-five. “How can you possibly hit twenty five out of twenty-five, Floyd?” I ask.   “You have to shoot twenty-five at a time he explained to me.”

“ You mean you go up and shoot twenty-five times before stopping I ask?”

“ Yes Verl if you only shoot five at a time and then stop it is hard to hit twenty-five times.”

“How can you do this, Floyd? The machine is lucky to keep running as it is without breaking down.”

“Let’s go to Provo (25 miles away) on Sunday and let me take you to that gun club and you can watch and learn how others do this.” Floyd told me.

We went to Provo and Dallas Thacker was the President of Provo Gun Club and he was Utah State Champion for the sixteen-yard event and also the handicap champion the same year. Dallas became a close friend and took me under his wing and taught me to shoot properly. With his guidance I learned to shoot one hundred straight several times.

But back to the story. We went back to Heber airport, and I told them we needed to update our system and get it so we can shoot this many targets. Ellis Clyde did not want this to happen because he was making a few dollars a week with this system.

South of the airport in Heber was some property owned by Utah State Fish and Game and the property was not being used. So, with Floyd Tadd we drove to Salt Lake City and meet with the head of the fish and game. Dale Roberts (I googled this to make sure of his name and it said there never was a Dale Roberts who worked for the State Fish and Game, I say Bull Sh.) was his last name and when I told him we wanted to get some property from the state to build a gun club.

The fist thing he said was, “before I can even discuss this with you it will be necessary for you to be a registered gun club.”

“What does that take I ask?” he said, go get an attorney to write up a corporation with the State of Utah as a non-profit gun club. When you get that come back and see me.”

I went to James Smedley who was the attorney for Wasatch County at the time. I knew him very well and had worked on his property several times. Jim wrote up the articles of corporation and donated his time in so creating this Gun Club.

Back to Salt Lake City, and when we meet with Roberts he said, “this is good but now all we have is the fact that you want property, and we have to show how much and how it will be used. Draw up something showing what you want and give it to me in writing with a map with a drawing for this gun club.

Working for Wasatch County many times I knew Dale (last name?) the county planner. Small towns it is not unusual to know most of the County people. So, I ask Dale to draw me a drawing of the Big Hollow area that the State owned and show a drawing of a trap range. A few weeks later Dale calls me to come in and look. He laid out a piece of paper that was perhaps two feet by two feet square with Big Hollow drawn to scale. Now he said, “point out to me what you have in mind Verl.”

“If we could get one or two acres we would have plenty of room,” I said.

Verl, you do not go to the state of Utah for one or two acres of ground they think bigger than that.” Dale said.

“How many acres or on this map you have before me I said.”

“Now you have gone the other way that is too much to ask.” “Just tell me what is on this page you have before me,” I said.

Taking a ruler and a few minutes, he said, “one hundred and twenty acres. But you will never get that free from them.”

“If I am going to be turned down I want it for asking to much not to little. I said write this up and ask the county commissioners that they are supporting Heber Valley Gun Club in requesting this property.” I personally knew every county commissioner and had a good repour with them. Russ Wall had called me to fight a fire for the county one night getting me out of bed to send a dozer up on the mountain, and I had told him I did not want to put a dozer in danger for the county, but he told me of the danger, for life’s that I would help save, and he had said if you do this for me I will owe you one Verl. Would you believe the county signed that letter (favors ask favors paid) and I took the large map to Salt Lake City and laid it on Dale Roberts desk and said, “We have officially made a Gun Club to meet your specifications and now I have the map you requested drawn by the County of Wasatch and would like to know how long it will take for you to hand me the title to this property.”

“Well, Verl we can’t give you the property but we can give you a ninety-nine-year lease and that is the best we can do.” Without his knowledge what he said then was a commitment for him.

We got that property and I took a dozer up and built the road into the property donation this and paying for a culvert to cross the canyon water drainage. I personally cleared all the oak brush and donated all the concrete to built those first trap pads.

When it came time to built the gun club building Floyd and I went back to Salt Lake City and meet again with Roberts. I explained to him that the state of Utah collected money for all ammunition sold in the state and they were giving money to other Gun Clubs and I was setting here now requesting Heber Valley Gun Club be recognized and money allowed to built our building.

He refused to give any money toward our building fund. So, we left that office feeling very bad that day. I took a dozer up and dug a basement for the new Club House and then went to Salt Lake City again and meet with Benner Block Company (spelling?). They donated all the cinder blocks to build the gun club. Not only that, they donated insulation for the walls. We built that Gun Club ourselves. We paid for the brick layers but Floyd Tadd walked on top of those cinder block carrying the trusts to form the roof.

We had Jimmy Duke, Floyd Tadd, Dr. Jim Williams, Don Thomas, being careful here there were a lot of us more than my memory is capable but we worked and built that building. One day the Dale Roberts came to Big Hollow to tell us we had not notified the state of our intention to build on this property we had no right to do that. He was so mad he was yelling at me. Screaming and stomping his feet. “Just a minute here I sat across the desk from you and showed you the plans for the gun club and ask you for the money which you refused to give me. How can you say you didn’t know? I said.

“When we turned you down we thought it would be over.” Now I said, “we have a small difference of view here, you can not say you did not know so that is a lie right of the batt. Finally, after calming him down, he said, “if we were to name it a hunter safety building they could approve it.” So, the Gun Club does not have a Gun Club building we have a Hunter Safety building.

I was a hunter safety officer for seven years while I was President of the gun club and years later wanting a license to carry a firearm in Californiia, I ask the state of Utah for this so I could officially show and the computers were not updated to show me as ever being a hunter safety officer. So, computers can lie if not feed the right information.

Why do I tell this story now? Because it was a fact that what happened then is in the process of what is happening now. This story is not about Verl this story is about a dream that came true because God meant it to be. Those that have doubt google the Heber Valley Gun Club today and see what is there. As God is my judge this story is not about Verl this story is about faith and moving toward a reward just because what is to be will be.

Now today I am dreaming of Golden Goose Airlines. With the same thoughts in mind, I gave then with no intention to reward and this story would be news to those running that gun club if they were to read this. Well friends God did it once before and if those in Heber gained how much will those in this world gain by offering jobs and security one day when this airline becomes a reality?

I stand commented that when one gives openly with no intention of reward the reward will come later. I had no idea this gun club would be what it is today but I learned that what is possible is only a matter of having faith and as God said Faith alone is worthless without action.

A Messenger,

Verl K.