Former residents will return this weekend to celebrate Pleasant Valley Days in Scofield, located in a cool mountain valley rich in mining, ranching and logging history.
Once a thriving mining center and candidate to become Carbon County seat. Scofield now has only about 15 permanent residents, and the main activity is recreation. Two coal mines operate nearby, but most personnel commute to their jobs.But the population grows dramatically in the summer when homes located in several camps around the lake fill with summer and weekend residents. A few recreationists also come in the winter for snowmobiling and ice fishing.
Marilyn Nielsen, parade chairman for the celebration who lives part time at Scofield and part time in Helper, said she is not sure how many entries will be in the parade scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. She said some of the camps show up with last-minute entries.
She is quite sure there will not be any this year depicting the event most often associated with Scofield history, the 1900 disaster at the nearby Winter Quarters mine in which 200 miners were killed. Some of the parades in the past have depicted this event.
Next year, when a larger parade is planned to tie in with Utah's Centennial, there may be more on the history of the area, she said.
In addition to the parade on Saturday, there will be a breakfast from 7-10 a.m., a lunch beginning at noon and a dance in the evening from 7-11 p.m. There will be a nominal charge for these events, all of which will be held in the pavilion in Mont Trease Memorial Park.
One of the most spectacular events will be fireworks Friday evening between 7-10 p.m. Fireworks will be launched from the island in Scofield lake, Nielsen said.
Nielsen said there is interest in preserving some of the historical sites around Scofield such as the cemetery where many of the victims of the 1900 mining disaster are buried but funds are short.
She said, however, a grant has been obtained to renovate the old Scofield school building for a town center.