ST. GEORGE — Newcomers to Utah's Dixie are learning what the old-timers knew years ago: Once a few grains of that red sand dirt settles between your toes, you're no longer a stranger — you're family.
"We absolutely love it here," says Gail Beer, president of Dixie Newcomers, a social group of more than 600 members dedicated to meeting new people, sharing interests and having a good time. "A lot of our members vacationed here for years before making the move. Weather is a big factor for a lot of us, and so is golf."
When the Dixie Newcomers group first gathered at a member's home 10 years ago, St. George looked far different than it does today. Traffic flowed more smoothly than it does now, and homes didn't dot the hillsides far into the distance.
"I think we're all talking about the traffic," said Beer, who moved here from Florida about a year and a half ago with her husband. "Most of our members are real new in town, within the last couple of years. There are an awful lot from Southern California, but we also have people from all over the United States."
Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith remembers patrolling I-15 as a Utah Highway Patrol trooper during the 1980s and '90s, back when the streets pretty much cleared out after 8 p.m. during the summer.
"Now there's full traffic up and down I-15 nonstop," said Smith, who moved his family here in 1983. "We have traffic problems all over the place, even on the alternate routes, especially on the weekends.
"Washington County has been discovered, not only by the state of Utah but also by the rest of the nation. We're a much more diverse community now."
Dixie State College history professor Doug Alder, who served as college president from 1983 to 1996, recently finished writing about the county's growth from 1996 to the present to be included in a reprint of his book, "The History of Washington County."
"There are 37 non-Mormon congregations in the St. George area now, and they all have new buildings," Alder said, adding he expects those populations to double or triple over the next 15 years. "There has been an influx of Spanish-speakers. We've never had to absorb a large ethnic group like this before, and it's a double-edged sword."
Some of the original landholders in the county are "very much in the forefront" of the development movement, Alder said.
"Many times it is several generations of the same family that are involved in selling land to the newcomers," he said. "I think the old-timers have benefited and welcomed the new people quite well. Up until 1965, nobody who graduated from the area's high schools could stay here and make a living. Now there is a huge inflow of people who are coming to work in all kinds of fields."
Newcomers are buying or renting homes in areas of the county that once attracted only sagebrush and jackrabbits, he said.
"We've built whole new communities, started a public transportation system, constructed new schools, trails and parks," Alder said. "We have a new hospital, and the college has grown. There are cultural events, museums and a revitalized downtown. It just takes your breath away."
Families that historically farmed land in Dixie are finding it more profitable today to sell their acres to developers, who are turning a tidy sum carving it up and serving lots to some of those newcomers.
But there are some landowners who are finding it hard to sell off what they feel is a disappearing family heritage.
"I've been farming all my life here," said Wynn Stout from his home in Hurricane, another city struggling to keep up with the relentless demands of developers and others who want to add more homes to the county. "I love farming. I'd rather do that than anything else."
Stout and his wife, Phyllis, once owned 60 acres in Hurricane Valley and leased another 100 acres to farm on. Much of that is gone now, sold to pay bills that tend to crop up when you have 16 children and need to deal with the ups and downs of farm life. But Stout doesn't regret having to sell some of his property, and he even sees the county's growth pattern as a "good thing."
"For 100 years our young people had to leave to get a job. Only two or three of the kids in my graduating class stayed here," he said. "Maybe it was the Lord's plan. They've gone away, done very well with some far-reaching effects, and many are moving back home now."
Several months ago a developer offered a neighbor $200,000 to $300,000 an acre, he said.
"I kinda wish I still had all those acres I sold," Stout quips, standing outside his home surrounded by 15 acres of property, 43 head of cattle and other aspects of country life. "The reason why I'm so happy to see this growth is now my kids can stay here. Nobody could do that before. Thank goodness they can come back now."
However, some longtime residents aren't so sure their families have a future in St. George.
Ilona Ence, 40, was born and raised here. But she doesn't hold much hope that her three boys will be able to afford to live in Washington County once they are on their own.
In 1989 she purchased one acre of property for less than $19,000 in Winchester Hills, about eight miles north of downtown St. George, where she built a modest home. Six years ago she bought an adjoining acre of property for $44,000 but turned down a $170,000 cash offer just last year for the vacant lot.
"The man called again last week," Ence said. "I just laughed and said, 'You'll never get it for less than $300,000.' To me it's worth a million dollars, because it's priceless to have a place for my boys to play on."
Ence may be wise in holding on to her property. From her back yard she has a clear view of the first $4 million home to spring up in The Ledges, a private, 18-hole golf-course community with lots overlooking Snow Canyon State Park. Roughly 2,500 homesites, selling for $300,000 to $600,000, are planned for the development over the next 14 years.
"It used to be the country," Ence said. "Not anymore. The city has moved to us."
And so have city folks, like Nancy Flannigan. She said moving away from big city life was a bit of a shock when she arrived in Dixie less than a year ago with her husband, Kirk, who took a job with the Dixie National Forest.
"It was a little difficult transition for me," said Flannigan, who has a 14-year-old son, Tanner, and a 7-month-old daughter, Madison. "I was working a full-time job in downtown Salt Lake City, and we moved to Central. It's beautiful here in the foothills, but it's really quiet at night."
While the Flannigans miss their old stomping grounds of Sugar House once in a while, she said, their friends are happy to come visit them here.
"Most of them are really jealous that we get to live here," says Flannigan, laughing now at their recent comments. "They're all sick of the snow up north, and all that pollution."
Flannigan's son loves his new environment and has found his niche in southern Utah as well, she said.
"There are enough new kids moving into the school that he's never really felt like he didn't fit in. He's made lots of friends," Flannigan said.
Greg Basso moved to St. George from northern California a dozen years ago. It's a decision he says that he and his wife have never regretted.
"Most of the people who move here will tell you they can feel a spirit that's in the red cliffs and in the community," he says. "People are very giving of themselves here. There's always something to do, always something to volunteer for. It's hard to express, but it's here."
Even with the phenomenal growth and the challenges it brings, Sheriff Smith said there's still one thing everyone can count on — whether you consider yourself a newcomer or not.
"The Dixie spirit is still here. That stays the same," he says. "Once you get that red sand in your shoes, you can't get it out."
Contributing: Dave AndertonUtah's Dixie: Dreams and Dilemmas
The Deseret Morning News is examining the current and potential future impacts of southern Utah's population and housing boom in a four-part series, "Utah's Dixie: Dreams and Dilemmas."
Sunday: Population and home prices jump.
TODAY: Longtime residents and newcomers share their love of Dixie.
Tuesday: Transportation and water issues loom.
Wednesday: Education, health care and other services try to keep up.
E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com