by Tim Gillie

STAFF WRITER

April 1 was not only April Fool's Day. It also marked the sixth month of my employment as a writer here at the Transcript-Bulletin. I don't know for sure if there is a significance to those events occurring at the same time. I'll leave it to you to judge.

I have enjoyed the last six months, but with all the deadlines come and gone, it sure seems more like six years.

The editorial offices are on the top floor of the Transcript-Bulletin building. My workstation is in the backroom, which is quieter and cooler than the front room. A few months ago when one of our reporters left, I moved across the room to her workstation to take advantage of a better computer and being next to a window. The window was the main attraction. It not only serves as a way to temper the heat upstairs, but also is a delightful distraction at times. Occasionally when my eyes need a rest from the computer monitor, I can stare out the window as far north as the Key Bank building -- which I always thought looked like an alien spacecraft.

Then there are the times when I am just staring out the window waiting for inspiration -- that perfect word or ideal lead to leap into my mind.

I have a great view of the Tooele City Hall and, directly across Main Street, the Ritz Theater with its classic marquee. The contrast of these two buildings represent the things that I have come to love about Tooele, which has grown to be my hometown now for about 12 years.

The City Hall, according to the brick on the front, was built in 2000. I can vaguely remember the old building that stood there. It was torn down not too long after I moved here to make way for the new building. We have several wonderful new things in Tooele: City Hall, the library, several new schools, the entire business district on the north end of town. As much as I complain about Tooele looking like the parts of West Valley City where I did not want to buy a home, these developments have added to our quality of life if for no other reason than we no longer have to travel to Salt Lake City to find the things they offer. Unfortunately retail growth with colored lights and hot asphalt parking lots follow residential growth.

My wife won't let me move to Ibapah, so I have come to terms with Tooele's growth.

The Ritz Theater stands in contrast to the new City Hall. I'm not sure how old the Ritz is, but I found one Web site that dates it back to before 1927. I'm told there were a couple of other old theaters north of the Ritz, but they were torn down, leaving the Ritz as the last one standing. Tooele, like the Ritz, has a wonderful rich history. From early settlers to the opening of the Army Depot, and the miners that came from many European countries. I have enjoyed opportunities to talk to many longtime Tooele residents like Jim Gowans or even Transcript-Bulletin Publisher Emeritus Joel Dunn, and hear them tell stories about Tooele's history and their ancestors. I have enjoyed getting to know people like Bob Swan and Tim St. Clair, although posthumously. Just last week I had a private tour of the Tooele Museum by Jim Bevan and Russ Hammond. They snuck me into the old City Hall, built in 1867, and we went upstairs to the room where the city council used to meet.

So here I am staring out the window, looking at the two buildings representing all that is good of the past and present of Tooele, and I realize that is what I love about this place. The old and the new have blended here in a special way that I know will forge a wonderful future.

tgillie@tooeletranscript.com