1967-1986
Russell Croft (left) and Dean Hurst (right) of Mt. Ogden holding the remnants of the 1922 flagpole, 1970
In 1967, the U.S. Forest Service removed most of the original flagpole because of laws prohibiting such materials without authorization.
Section of flagpole from 1922 that has “JDS” painted on it and caption tag
In 1970, U.S. Forest Service ranger Frank EcElwain, Weber faculty member and alumni president Russell Croft, and Director of College Relations Dean Hurst went on an excursion to Mt. Ogden to see if they could recover any archaeological remnants from the 1922 hike. The team was pleased to find a section of the original flagpole, some concrete, and the lid from the jar that held the original participants' names. The artifacts were brought down the mountain and returned to the Weber State College campus.
A plaque to commemorate the 1922 hike was to be flown via helicopter up to the Mt. Ogden peak in 1975, but the trip was canceled last minute due to weather. So in August 1976, the plaque was taken up Mt. Ogden via Jeep Patrol with members of the original hiking party Junius Tribe, Floyd Barnett, and William Terry. The three alumni reminisced with he event participants about the first hike, telling the group about how they could keep track of time by listening for the factory whistles from the valley below. Barnett told about how he got up early and rode a horse to the trailhead, and Terry was one of the volunteers who carried sections of the flagpole up.
Forest Service ranger Preston Jackson (left), Dean Hurst (center), and Russell Croft (right) holding remnants of concrete from flag pole support from 1922, 1970
Rocky top of Mt. Ogden, 1970
Mountain view from Mt. Ogden hike, 1970
Russell Croft standing on top of Mt. Ogden, 1970