Oral History Program William Gailey Interviewed by David Schoenfeld 22 July 1974 i Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah William Gailey Interviewed by David Schoenfeld 22 July 1974 Copyright © 2012 by Weber State University, Stewart Library ii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. Archival copies are placed in University Archives. The Stewart Library also houses the original recording so researchers can gain a sense of the interviewee's voice and intonations. Project Description The Weber State College/University Student Projects have been created by students working with several different professors on the Weber State campus. The topics are varied and based on the student's interest or task for a specific assignment. These oral history assignments were created to help Weber State students learn the value and importance of recording public history and to benefit the expansion of the Weber State oral history collections. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the Stewart Library of Weber State University. No part of the manuscript may be published without the written permission of the University Librarian. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed to the Administration Office, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84408. The request should include identification of the specific item and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Gailey, William, an oral history by David Schoenfeld, 22 July 1974, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with William E. Gailey. The interview was conducted on July 22, 1974, by David Schoenfeld, in Gailey’s home in Kaysville, Utah. Gailey discusses the irrigation companies in Davis County during the 1900’s and some of his personal experiences in relationship to irrigation in the country. Mrs. Gailey is also present during the interview. DS: Just to begin, just tell me a little bit about yourself, you know. WG: Haven’t much to tell; born here in this house eighty-five years ago. Lived here in Kaysville all my life. Grew up here, attended school here, I attended two years at the University of Utah. DS: Did you, or were you a classmate of Herb Barnes? WG: Yes, to this extent; I roomed, we "batched" together. No, no, Herb is two or three years older than I am. DS: What were you studying down there? WG: Have you talked to Herb? DS: Yes I have. I talked to him for a couple of hours, about ten days to two weeks ago. I got some good information from him. WG: We roomed together there the first year at the University. Then, I spent two years, but the next year I was called on a mission and served thirty months over in Germany. 1 DS: Just out of curiosity and because I have so many friends who have been on missions; in that time period were you allowed to extend your mission or, was the foreign mission longer? WG: It was longer then. Now, of course when I left here I couldn't say a word of German, but now-days they send them down to BYU and study the language and I just had to learn from scratch. So, they usually sent them over for about thirty months. You had to take about six months to learn, the, you know, language. Cause you don't learn the language in six months, but you get started. MG: The German language is in so many different forms you know, such as Low German and High German. He baptized Alexander Schriner. DS: Oh really!! WG: Yah, I was over there during Kaiser Wilhelm’s reign. Then of course I got home in, let's see, I left in December, 1908, and I got home in August, 1911. DS: Tell me. How did you first get affiliated with Haights Creek Irrigation Company? WG: Well, in the beginning, of course, the earliest settlers settled on these cricks, you know, and then as more come in why they expanded it and divided the stream and they organized and regulated the distribution of the water. But my grandfather acquired this place and this is the north end of where Haights Creek water was delivered. To this farm here and we had forty acres here. DS: Surrounding the home here? 2 WG: Yeah, surrounding the home here, and west. Took in these two rooms here, these two here and then west and had forty acres here. He was instrumental in or associated with a group that extended the water from Haights Creek, which is a mile south of here. DS: Right. This is the stream that flows out of Baers Canyon, right? And it goes down past the Heslop's property and the golf course? WG: Yes. Now Heslop's property was the south border of the Haights Creek district. Now, they kept pretty well on this side of Haights Creek you see. But from Heslop’s farm east then it covers both sides. Of course my grandfather was one of the early settlers here, come here in 1847, and... DS: Now, what was his name? WG: John Gailey, Yes, and we just been associated since that time with Haights Creek area. DS: Now the company itself was incorporated in 1899, March 1. Was your father one of the original promoters of the company? WG: Yes, but I have a record here and this goes back a hundred years, where water users of Heights Creek meet together occasionally, and talk over their problems. I think this was when they first got a water master here. Oh, they had someone do it, but here let me read this here: A water meeting held at Joseph Egbert's house at Kaysville, Davis County, the claimants of water of Haights Creek irrigation. May 31, 1873. Joseph Egbert being chosen chairman of said meeting, John Ellison elected secretary. Now John Ellison lived, he was the north boundary along the mountain road, the old Fruit Heights road, along the north end, of that where it comes into the freeway that goes up there. And John Ellison's property was right west of there. He had a farm west of there. 3 So that is the north of the area up there and this is the north end of the area down here. Joseph Egbert chosen chairman, John Ellison elected secretary, moved and seconded and carried that William Slack be a water master for the year 1873. So you see that is a hundred and one years ago. It is the election of this meeting that the water master qualify by giving bond at $300,000 for the faithful performance of his duty. You couldn't get them to give bond now a-days, to get a water master. The distribution of the water to be made according to the territory law and to the best of his ability, and further that he receive the same compensation as last year, $.10 per acre throughout the district It carried unanimously; Joseph Egbert, President; John Ellison, Secretary. DS: Was that name first used, or did they use the term ditch rider? WG: No, it was always water master. Still is. DS: So were these early meetings held only once a year, during the springtime? WG: Let's see. Here is May 31, 1873; well the next one is February 26, 1876. So guess not every year. DS: Probably just as the need arose? WG: Yes, that was the next one. Then 1876, 1877, 1879, then they get down to where they meet once a year. DS: What year did you become secretary? WG: 1920. DS: 1920, were you affiliated with the company before then? WG: Oh yes. I was a director from 1915. 4 DS: Now, the organization of the company was a board of directors, a president, a secretary, and a vice-president? WG: Five Directors and the organization consisted of a president, vice-president, secretary, and a treasurer. Then, they each year, they appointed a water master, DS: Was that usually the same person or did it rotate around quite frequently? WG: Oh pretty much the same person. DS: Was there still this compensation per acre? WG: No, they got a certain price. MG: They called it a water tax. WG: Well of course they took so much per acre, for the shares of water. In 1899, when it was incorporated it was divided up into shares and... DS: How many shares were there in the original company? WG: I think that when it was first organized or incorporated there was 1,000 shares or primary shares and 600 secondary shares. MG: You know that a share of water was the time or period of time that you got water. It was one hour for a primary share. WG: Well, that would all depend on the stream, and a good year. And then when you get up to the middle of July or the first of August when the stream was always smaller, they probably cut it in half and the secondary shares had use of water usually up to the Fifteen of July and then after that, they got no water. DS: What did the original shares of stock sell for? 5 WG: Well, when it was incorporated, they were placed at a par value of $25. DS: While we are on that, how much has that increased over the years? Did it or did they price go up fairly regularly? WG: Well, not so much, they have, there are no secondary shares in the company at this time and they source of water has so increased that par value of a share now is $35, but to this extent it has doubled about three times, because one share of water when it was incorporated in 1899 equals three shares today. So three times thirty-five, you see, it has increased. The original share has increased considerable. DS: Have they split the stock several times or increased the number as the demand has gone up for the water? WG: Here is what happened. We extended the Davis and Weber Counties canal from Layton over there to this area, and that meant we increased our water supply and secondary shares were done away with. Then, we could only get so high up. Do you know where the old canal used to be? DS: Yes, I know where it is. That is the old Davis and Weber Counties extension? WG: Yes, that went to Haights Creek. MG: The ditch company got that over from the mouth of the canyon, WG: Yes, well we, Kaysville Irrigation Company come in with us and they come as far as the cemetery, and we had to continue on from there over from what we got. MG: You see, by the first of July Haights Creek was through and it had all run out, we used canal water, 6 WG: Then when we got that stream over there, the Davis and Weber County’s canal water was used for the part below and the mountain stream was given to those above. Probably a majority of the secondary shares were owned above, but then they were all converted into primary shares. Then, when Weber Basin come through, then we bought water in the aqueduct and for then for a few years we did bring our Davis and Weber Counties water that way, then we made arrangements to bring it through all the time, and then we bought extra shares and that helped us in supplying water. You see we now have, which covers this area here, I am not sure, but it has increased the water supply to three acre feet of water per acre that is what we deliver now. DS: You were made secretary in 1920 and were on the board from 1915 to 1920? WG: Yes. In the Depression years, and those were tough years, well we already had the water and we had the contract made and everything, but if we could have started in 1930, we probably could not have even been able to borrow the money, but we got a local loan to borrow the money to construct that canal through and then to buy a hundred and sixty shares of Davis and Weber Canal water, and those were rough years and hard to pay for. Then eventually the bank went broke and the bank in Salt Lake where we got our money from went broke. So then we went to the government, the Federal Reserve, and we made application with them and we got a loan and we paid off our debts from there and then this was to be extended over a longer period of years. We got that all paid off and when things began to get better, we were very fortunate. DS: Before 1930, the only local ditches you had were those just coming off of Heights Creek to the various farms and those were all dirt? 7 WG: That's right. But we did have another source, that wasn’t owned by the company. But members of the company brought water from Farmington Canyon, over here, down through the foothills there by the new stake house. It came just above there, and so for early water we had that source that come into our system and helped to some extent. DS: That was just a dirt channel too wasn't it? WG: Oh yes, and another thing; all of our head gates were lumber, as we didn’t have cement like they do today. DS: Those first ten or fifteen years before you became secretary was there quite a growth in agriculture in the area or was it fairly stable? WG: No, it was stable and didn't change from year to year. DS: How many acres were you originally irrigating? WG: Well, my father owned this place with forty acres here. There is about eighty acres out there, so about one hundred and twenty acres. DS: Did World War I bring an increase in the agriculture in the area? Was there any larger demand for produce or some of the things produced in the area or did that not really affect Davis County that much? WG: Oh yes, it effected prices. It really did and the demand for stuff, you know. But then after World War I, then it all disappeared. We raised beets here for four dollar: a ton and all you could get. Well now, four dollars a ton isn’t very much I'll tell you. Everything was hand labor, they had to be dug with a horse and plow and topped by hand, they had to be loaded on a wagon by hand, they had to hauled to a dump, and four dollars a ton, when you spend all summer, and we use to get from sixteen to twenty tons per acre, 8 well, how much money do you get even at twenty dollars per ton, how much you making. It was almost a losing game. We raised tomatoes, there was a canning factory here, and that was another thing, when we got this water it gave us the opportunity of growing different kinds of crops. Before we could only grow grain, and hay, and raise cattle, because we didn't have water for that late irrigation. But when we got the Davis and Weber Canal water, over here, we had water for entire season. So then we could grow a crop of peas for the cannery that would be an early crop, get it off in June. Then we would have sugar beets and tomatoes, tomatoes for the cannery and our crops were diversified and it made things easier. Instead of just being able to depend on hay and grain and cattle, maybe a few cows and that gave you your spending money, to live on. DS: Where was that canning factory located? WG: Well, do you know where the Deseret Mills are down here, well that was the grain mill down here and the cannery was just north of it. In fact they now have the warehouse that the cannery had, tore down the cannery. DS: When did the cannery go out of business? WG: About 1945, the time of the Second World War. DS: As I understood it from Herb correctly, there were some ten or twelve canneries in the area that sprang-up mainly as a result of the coming of the Davis and Weber Canal water. Now what drove most of those out of business? WG: Change, and right now there isn't a cannery in the county. You see, farming became a secondary thing and another thing too, as the growth come into the country here, it used to be that a man with forty acres could make enough to support his family and make a 9 good living, but to operate a forty acre farm today; you would have to have an outside job to support it. You just couldn't make a living off of it. Wages have gone up, but so have expenses and you just couldn't make enough to produce. Now the dairymen, if you had ten or twelve cows you had a pretty good dairy herd. That same group now has from seventy-five to one hundred-fifty cows. Then of course, we did a lot with horses and now you have to have expensive equipment. You can't operate a small farm anymore that way. DS: So the coming of Hill Field shot up the land values, people were building subdivisions and farmers found it more profitable to sell their land, rather than work it. MG: Yes, but we had a big acreage out there and Hill Field took it, they had to have it. The reason why they had to have it was we were at war and all that cement had to be on ground that had been used. Now they tried, when Hill Field first came in here, to get them further out on the sand ridge, but that wouldn't do, because they had to have good ground and they knocked down good houses and everything else. WG: Well, you're talking about the old naval base. MG: Well, that was the naval base too and Hill Air Force Base. Of course, that was a wonderful thing to come into the country. Brought in a lot of people, but they come in with nothing. You know, they didn't bring anything with them. DS: What kinds of things do you remember, say in the 1920’s and 1930's, up to World War II, that the company faced in the way of problems, such as droughts and Depression and other things? You know, when you got together for your annual meetings in the spring, what kinds of things were people talking about in the 20’s and 30’s? 10 WG: Well the 20's, we didn't have too many problems. Course in the 20’s that goes back to when we first had hay and grain only and that. Then we got the chance to extend the Davis and Weber canal over here, and of course that increased the number of crops that we could grow. The 30’s were kind of bad years, latter part we began to recover and get out again. MG: You know, people would not come here and you couldn’t blame them. They could go out there and get money you know, that was cash out there. But we had Japanese people came in and that was a help to us. That was a big help. To have them come in and do hand labor. DS: Was 1934 an especially bad year, now I've some other people tell me that the drought was so bad in parts of the county that you were taking bathes once a week, you were maybe washing your clothes and dumping the wash water on the garden or other parts of your lawn, because there was such a total lack of water. MG: No, I don't remember, but we had a well you see, and Kaysville City was one of the first places to put in a good water system, for the city. We always had a good water system. Now Layton doesn’t have the water system that we do now, they are having trouble. They had trouble all along getting enough water. Do you know where Chester Flint lives down on Flint Street? They are on Layton City water for their house and lawn sprinkling and that. They don't have near enough water, they can’t get enough. But Kaysville put in a good tank and pond up there, and they put in a good water system for this town. DS: When was that water system put in? WG: Well I couldn't tell you, but we had it when we were married in 1914, so it was here then. 11 MG: They enlarged it and kept enlarging it. We lived in this house fifty years. WG: I don't know, let me read it... MG: Where did you get your government loan, to extend that water over here? WG: Well, we borrowed the money from Deseret Federal in Salt Lake. John K. Barnes helped us get it. Then they went broke and we were being taken over by another bank. So we went to the government for the money and got a government loan, paid them off. MG: Of course, the government spent, two government men spent two days going through all the records and books. They couldn’t find any mistakes. WG: That was the second loan. MG: How much was the second loan you got? WG: Well the last loan was around $450,000. MG: For one company to get. But they went through all the whole thing. DS: Now these two loans were obtained in the early 1930's for the extension of the canal, right? WG: Yes, they went through a local bank in Salt Lake and then they went broke during the 30's. We got this government loan then and see we had to have that loan to stay off the expenses of building that canal and buying that one hundred and sixty shares of Davis and Weber County canal water. DS: What did those hundred and sixty shares sell for? WG: Well we bought them, and I think we paid $120 or $125 a share. 12 MG: That's quite a record for one company, to be organized all these years and there wasn't one bit of indebtedness anywhere. DS: In many parts of the country during the 1920’s the farmers were suffering, while quite a bit of America was enjoying prosperity. Were prices quite low after the initial recession of the 1920-21 period, up until the Depression were prices fairly lower or did they improve somewhat? WG: Oh, they improved as the country began to get back on its feet and of course prices improved and conditions improved. DS: Did you have an increase at all during the 1920’s in the amount of water you were supplying or did it stay right around 120 or 150 acres, during that time? WG: Oh, it stayed about the same. DS: When you built the addition, the extension of the canal, how much did that increase the acreage going into the 30's now? WG: Well that didn't increase the acreage... DS: Just provided more water through a later part of the season? WG: Oh yes, it gave us a more dependable amount of water, that we could surely depend on, you know. We distributed the mountain stream among those up through Fruit Heights and that. When we had a slack year of water, we had to make different assessments; we had the lower our assessments in comparison with theirs, because they didn't get the water. For a period of five years, at $27 per share and run the entire time without interest. Mr. Barn stated that he considered this to be the last time this locality could obtain water, as Salt Lake City had applied for all the surplus water of 13 Davis and Weber Canal Company could spare. It was explained that the engineers estimated the cost of the construction of the canal at $52,800, which had a capacity of thirty-five acre feet in sixty days, but that a canal large enough to carry twenty-five acre feet in ninety days would be ample for present needs, however the larger would provide for the future. Moved by John Gailey, seconded by John Reed, that the board of directors be authorized to purchase up to and including 250 shares of stock in the Davis and Weber Canal Company, and to work out a plan where this stock can be handled by the stockholders. The chair appointed three tellers, John W. Barnes, Frank Reeves, and Hugh Barnes, representative from the Zion's Aid Society, Voting on proposed purchase of stock by ballot, 776 shares in favor and 276 shares opposed. Well that shows you. DS: Did you personally support the Weber Basin Project? WG: Oh yes, you bet! At first I didn't know. I wasn't against it. But then as time went on I could see that, my goodness, there was the possibility of eliminating the open ditch. Through areas there were people building up, you know, along different areas and the chance of children getting in and causing you trouble you know. Then another thing, as we learned after we got the Weber Basin line in there, we did it up there, have all our water up at the further side of our irrigation, oh that would be a wonderful thing. Then to build a permanent reservoir up there, where we could not only turn our water out and receive it. Yeah, we did, we turned it out into the stream and used it away. But when we got to the thinking about putting it under pressure, then we went ahead to do that. But you get one good thing going, there is always chance for improvement, you know. DS: Now when did you retire as secretary of the company? 14 WG: About 69. Well no, let me say, I was a director; I retired as secretary long about 65. It was getting bigger all the time. Thought I'd been in there long enough anyway. DS: Some of the other documents I've looked at mentioned one other year. I don't know if it was the early 60's. Were we having some drought condition? Do you recall any particular problems during...? WG: Yes, we could have had some problems, along there. In 58, and 59 we were on a mission to the Northwest, so I was gone a couple of years. Then I got back in it when I came back. DS: One of the things that has been really interesting to me, as I have looked at some of the other companies, including Haights Creek, has been the large degree of cooperation between the people in solving their water problems. Did the company ever get involved in any litigation or suits? WG: No... DS: Do you recall any in the area that were serious? WG: Oh yes, I know of a couple. The first one was Peter Barton out here had a pond and he didn't own any water, only secondary shares and this before I, this was when my father was connected with the company and I was only a kid. He used to take the stream and he would run it into that pond to fill it up and keep it filled. They went to court about it. DS: Was he using the pond for irrigation purposes? WG: Oh yes! For part of his ground, but I think they gave him up to the Fifteenth of July. He could use the early water, when, for irrigation. If there was water that wasn’t being used 15 he could put it in his pond. Then there is some springs down Haights Creek, and those down below, they use to divert down into the ditch, where the irrigation waters come, that would help them. I was part of that, they said that water was theirs and didn't belong to the irrigation company. So we went to court over that and of course they won it. That was all right. It didn't amount to much. Nothing more serious than that. MG: People will always steal water. They do in these blocks around here too. DS: Yes I know. MG: It is a good thing it is under pressure and underground now. You said your name was Schoenfeld? We had some very good friends in Salt Lake who were German people. DS: Yes, my grandparents came over here in 1903 to Provo. MG: These folks came over during the war and we sponsored them. Sonja and Frens Schoenfeld. DS: Yes, there are about... WG: Do you know them? DS: No, not directly. The only Schoenfeld I know from Salt Lake is a John Schoenfeld I met at Utah State University, when I was going up there. My first two years of college. WG: Frens taught music down at BYU. DS: As you look back over the last fifty years, and how water has been so important to everything, you know. Agriculture, residence, industry; has it been worth it to have the large growth that has come with Hill Field, with Weber Basin water and that. Has it to 16 see all the land, say in Fruit Heights, turned into residences and condominiums and other kinds of things? WG: Well, growth and development... MG: Absolutely, those budget condominiums... WG: We couldn't have had it, if we had not of had the water. DS: If you could go back, and have known that the growth would reach this proportion; would you have maybe gotten as much water through Weber Basin, for instance. Would you maybe have tried to hold the growth down somewhat? WG: Oh no, no you can't do that. MG: People want to come here. This is a good area. Between Salt Lake and Ogden is the best part of the state. WG: There is one thing that is a detriment to the County, and that is we’re right between the two largest cities in the state. The south end makes us divided; the south end would go to Salt Lake and the north end wants to go to Ogden. What I’m meaning about that is that right now there is in the development two hospitals, one in Bountiful and one in Layton. If we weren't between Salt Lake and Ogden and we weren’t divided, we would be united and have one in the center. But it divides the County. But it is because of our unfortunate situation of our location. MG: But there have sure been a lot of people move over from Layton and buy homes over here. DS: There was one company I have run across; the New Survey Irrigation Company. Do you know anything about that? 17 WG: Yes I do. You see the New Survey Irrigation Company is from the highway here east, until it reaches the city limits. They were, the New Survey Irrigation Company, was stockholders in the Haights Creek Irrigation Company, so their water, for irrigation purposes, was furnished from Haights Creek Irrigation Company. They had a reservoir over there too, where they could store water. They would fill it up this time of year, you know, and then there was a surplus of water. But they would get their turn of water once a week. Get the same as I would on my farm. DS: Now where was this reservoir? WG: It’s on Second North... DS: Just above Sixth East? WG: Yes, you know that one. That was the New Survey reservoir, and they got their supply of water through us. DS: Where did they get their water from you? Did they get it out of Height’s Creek or did they get it as a tap off from the canal there? WG: No, they didn't get it from the canal. They got it through... they had quite a few shares, and they got their turn through the Haights Creek Irrigation Company, just the same as an individual would. But they put it in that reservoir and they kept it full through the early run-off in the spring. Getting their turn, they had quite a few shares...I don't remember how many. And that would take care of the Kaysville residential area, from here up and over to 2nd North. It didn't go much further north than that. DS: So this water, then, was used for gardens and lawns, things like that? WG: Yes, yes. 18 DS: Is New Survey still in existence now? WG: No. DS: When did they go out of business? WG: About 1960, 1961 I guess. DS: Why was that? WG: Well you see they were just part of Haights Creek Irrigation Company, and then when we put in that pressure system, and all that, then that took in all of them and that give them the...well, it had to be that way or we couldn't get our loan and they couldn't get a loan. Now the company just distributed water through the members and they would bring the water into that area just to distribute it. Now there is the Straight Ditch Company in Layton too, and I'm a stockholder in that. MG: We have another farm down in the West Kaysville area. WG: I bring my Davis and Weber shares that I own through that company, but that Ditch Company doesn't own any water. But they own the ditch that delivers the water. DS: Yes, I have a feeling that quite a few of the companies I have on this list, especially some of them down south, own just the ditch and them people just put their water through it. WG: Yes, yes, I think so. DS: Do you know a person named Hallman? Ike Hallman of Centerville? WG: No I don't. 19 DS: He's a very nice gentleman who was secretary of the Deuel Creek Irrigation Company, in Centerville. He was telling me about some of the early history of their company. DS: What other kinds of, just as a summing up thing, what other kinds of thoughts or comments do you have about irrigation companies in the county? WG: For good or bad? DS: Both! WG: That's one thing about this area here, it was more arid and without water there would be no development. Our early settlers that came here, they observed that. Their only means of existence was to locate on some stream that comes through. Now, the first, Hector Haights was the first man who located here in Kaysville and that's why we have that creek that runs from the lake up to Baer's Canyon and the reason Baer's Canyon is called Baer's Canyon is because Mr. Baer had a sawmill there. Kay’s Creek; Kay was the first Bishop of Kaysville and he located just about on the line between Layton and Kaysville. But he located on the Creek over there called Kay’s Creek. Then right across the road from him was his friend, Phillips. They both located on the creeks. Kay was just a little east of Phillips and Kay took up the land around him there and built on the land around him. So there is Kay's Creek, you see. But I think we have one of the best irrigation systems in the country here. I don't know of one that has increased its shares of water to supply at least three acre feet of water per acre. You see when we got this extra water, it used to be just turned, now its acre feet and one share of stock of Haight's Creek stock equals one acre foot of water. The golf course out there has to have, they need a lot of water, they have to own four acre feet per acre. 20 DS: What would you say if there is one, has been the most pressing problem that the irrigation companies have faced in Davis County in this century? The constant attempts to get more water or... WG: Yes, in development, now as I mentioned here...now our first move to get additional water was by...The only source we could increase ours by was Davis and Weber Canal water. Well, Mr. Elison he lived at Layton and he was President of Davis and Weber Canal. John G. M. Barnes was director or secretary. I don't remember which, but I believe director. Salt Lake was pressing for this extra water that they had and they thought it should belong here, and they gave us the privilege of taking it. Now Farmington was given the same privilege as we had of getting this canal and at first they said they would go in with us and help us build the canal, but when it came right down to doing it they backed out. But we went ahead anyway, which was the best thing we could do. MG: They didn't quarrel all the time with their water master. There was a Mr. Jones, Tom Jones, he was the water master for years and years and years on the Straight Ditch, the Davis and Weber County Canal went down through West Kaysville and all down through there, and that's where we get our water for the farm down there. When he died there was the most beautiful bouquet of red roses on his casket. That’s all the flowers they had, was this gorgeous bouquet of red roses. It said, "From the fellows of the Straight Ditch." I said that sure did me good to see that. After all the years he had been their water master, they bought him red roses, they liked him so well. You know, the thing of it is, when the people came here to make homes and they didn't come for 21 wealth, they came here to establish homes. That's why Utah and this area all through here where they came here to make homes and that's what they have done. DS: Herb Barnes was telling me about the reservoir that was a Kay's Creek Irrigation Company reservoir that was just up above where the mortuary is now, that eventually washed out. WG: No, it's still there. That's the Kaysville Irrigation Company reservoir. They still operate it. DS: He told me about the time it broke the dam and they had to replace it, just a couple years after the Bamburger Railroad came through. WG: Could be. Might have been they had some problems there. Then they increased the dam and made it higher. MG: When the pioneers were building, all their head gates and things that divided the water were wood, and that was a big job. You get the lumber to do that with and it was a big job too. Then they got to make them out of cement. DS: In the earlier days, when they were just using wood or lumber, for the head gates, how long did those head gates last? WG: Oh, they'd last a good number of years. DS: Were they just usually made out of pine? WG: Oh, yes mostly pine. They would be dried during the winter months and wouldn't get water in them. They would last very well. A number of years. MG: This used to be the main highway. Where the ditch came across there, the water would all run down. Grandpa Gailey and his father got trees, limbs, and brush and built a 22 bridge right here. Then he used to charge $.10 for them to go over, when they came with their wagons and everything. If they refused to pay, why they would get stuck. He had a team of mules right out there; we kept them in that barn out there. DS: When was this, just in the early 1900's? MG: When was the toll bridge built? WG: It would be maybe 1850, around there. MG: This house was built in 1854. The only new wall in this house is that kitchen wall. This is solid adobe, solid brick adobes. This part of the house was built in the early l870's. These two rooms, but all the rest is the original. This is the original plaster on these walls. DS: Was there a basement in the house or just a cellar? MG: There was a cellar underneath here. We dug the wall out and had gas put in you know. We had to have a gas furnace put in. It was done in 32. We raised the roof...and the roof on the back porch; when they took some of the old roof off, it was made out of willows and birch. This was a doorway here and when we decided to make this into one place, we back the wagon up and it took a wagon load of big adobes out. There were other log houses around, you know, but this was the first adobe house DS: What is the oldest house in Kaysville right now that is lived in? MG: This is the oldest adobe house. There isn’t any log houses now. Do you know where Mr. Kneedy has his cold storage? That was known as the White House, that's where Brigham Young use to stay when he came to town. That was built of brick and the brick 23 was made down in Bountiful and was hauled up. Brick and adobe, then it was plastered over later. 24