I live in Sugarhouse, an older township community just south east of central Salt Lake City. When my mother was young, living near Liberty Park, Sugarhouse was the end of the city. The Utah State Prison was then where Sugarhouse Park is now. I grew up in the suburbs even further south but we seemed to end up in Sugarhouse for recreation.
My first memories of Sugarhouse are from one of those great youthful summers with friends riding our bikes to the Fairmont swimming pool, which is now a skate park and I still enjoy swimming laps at the new Fairmont Aquatic Center. I remember at age 15 playing in a rock band at a picnic pavilion for some kind of party. Our band was such a typical garage band that we must have played “Loui Loui” 10 times! Then we gravitated to the new Sugarhouse Park east of 1300 E. It turned into a 60’s drug shopping mall which all came to an end with a large police raid in 1971. Mostly though we would just take off our shirts and play Frisbee or go skinny dipping at night in the pond. But there are also strange negative memories lurking beyond these wonderful youthful memories.
At age 16 Craig was driving and we ran the stoplight at 2100 S. 1100E. Getting pulled over the police confiscated our beer and let us go with a warning. A couple years later Craig was arrested over a stack of traffic tickets and hung himself in jail. Oddly, more recently I heard a news story about a man who was killed when broadsided by some kids running the exact same light. Or what about the lady who was found murdered in the public restrooms of Fairmont Park where I am now sitting writing this? Why this horrible contrast between beauty and tragedy?
