Traditions of our Fathers

My first memory of missing a “holiday” on Mt. Graham (other than a few fire closures) was when I was 15. I was at Disney World for a national school competition over the 4^th of July weekend, and I was excited to be there, but pretty broken up about missing out on everything. For me, 4^th of July has less association with fireworks and barbecues, and more with campfire smoke, huge potluck dinners, cousins, and church services surrounded by pine trees. Until our family got too big and we started splitting the two holidays each summer, there were very few 4ths or Labor Days that we weren’t at the cabin. I did live in Iowa and then Virginia for a few years with my own little family, and we missed a lot of those, but still made a few!  It is such a long ingrained family tradition of spending at least part (if not as much as possible) of each summer at the mountain, that it almost hurts to be anywhere else during those times.

There are so many families that have so many great memories and traditions on Mt. Graham, but of course the ones I know the most about are mine. :)
My great-great-grandfather, Hyrum Weech, who immigrated from England, talks about his experience with Mt. Graham in his autobiography, “Our Pioneer Parents.” In 1882 (exactly a century before I was born) he and John Campbell first went up into one of the canyons of the mountain, looking for a likely spot for a lumber mill. He wrote, “By hard climbing, we went up on top of the mountain and found it to be a beautiful park of groves of pine timber, with open glades of grass and flowers. We camped for the night and found it quite cool to what it had been in the valley.”  They explored along the crest and high peak, where there was a monument of loose stones, and a can with only the names of government surveyors who had been there 10 years earlier. They added their names.  They did help found a mill there, and mentioned building a cabin in “Camp Columbine,” where they spent the summers.

He moved his family to Oregon in 1903, but my great-grandfather, David Henry Weech, soon decided to come back to Pima and continued to spend time on Mt. Graham. Hyrum returned to Arizona around 1918, and mentioned building another log cabin at Camp Columbine so they could continue to summer there.  It was built in 1921, and I think it’s the one that’s still there and in use. “A History of Mount Graham,” (assembled by my grandparents, Bertell and Cherrel Weech) tells about how they kept cows and chickens, made butter and cheese, grew gardens, and lived off the land up in the tops of the mountain, avoiding the heat of the valley.

I was surprised to learn (re-learn? My grandma probably told us about it some point) that the area we have cabins in now, “the Flat” at Columbine, was originally where the forest service headquarters were. The big cabin in the flat (the Bulan Weech family cabin) was built in 1938-9 by David Henry Weech and Bertell Weech.  

David Henry Weech

Bertell, my grandpa, added his cabin, on the hill overlooking the flat in 1947. I have many great memories in that old cabin and can picture its layout and the details of it vividly. My first Labor Day at Columbine was when I was just 6 weeks old! I remember that my Grandpa Weech spent as much time as he could at the cabin every summer, and I also remember how hard it was for him once his health made it too risky to go up much anymore. My other grandparents, Darell and Kathy Cluff, also had a cabin in upper? Columbine, which now belongs to my aunt Sondra and Uncle Reuben, so I had cousins on both sides to spend time with. I have some great memories from their cabin too. I need to take a picture of that one, because for some reason I don't have one, I don't think. 

The old cabin was struggling a little, and in 1994, my dad rebuilt a new cabin in its place that we enjoy today. It had a little more space, and is a little more comfortable, and we love it! 

I appreciate my parents' efforts to take us up so often, and all the hard work (and money) they've put into making sure we had lots of time at the cabin as kids and as adults with our own kids. I have so many great memories and experiences of Columbine and of the surrounding areas:  Building forts, playing (and fighting, haha) with countless first and second and probably third cousins.  Constructing things in the creek and making mud pies and leaf creations. Hiking to the tower at Webb Peak, or down to check out the old Mill machinery. Riding in the back to the truck to Soldier Creek, the ice caves, Rigg’s Lake, the lookout, and down to the Bible Camp to pick raspberries. Hours spent on tire swings. Too many baths in that old four-footed bathtub by lantern light to count.  Most of my fishing experiences (thanks to my mom) happened at Rigg’s, and I think the only times I’ve actually slept in a tent were just behind the cabin when it was over-full.  There were campfires, outside picnics, motorcycle rides, and tours at the telescopes. We had spirit-filled Sunday morning fast and testimony meetings and Saturday night potlucks and dances (with all those cousins…) up on the old LDS church cabin foundation. We ate marshmallows, fried chicken (or hamburgers), pancakes that are somehow SO much better up there, my grandpa’s homemade noodles and dumplings, watermelon, hot cocoa, and homemade ice cream churned at Uncle Carl’s. We battled with rubber band guns, heated card games, and games of Sow. There were explorations and discoveries and snipe hunts, baseball games that went on for hours, and now Frisbee games for the younger generation. There were awe-inspiring close encounters with bears , squirrels, deer and hummingbirds.  In the winter we even got to experience real snow and snowshoeing into the cabin. The sunsets, the smell of pine, the sound of the creek, stars so close you feel like you can reach out and touch them.  So much beauty, and so much history. One of the parts I treasure the most is the opportunity to be with and get to know so many great uncles and aunts, and extended cousins that I probably wouldn’t even know about, much less have memories with if it weren’t for Mt. Graham.

It is much harder as an adult to be the one in charge of packing, (and packing and packing) and coordinating, and –trying- to get my city kids to sleep in the dark and the silence, and to go outside and play. The experiences I’ve had there as an adult aren’t quite as memorable and poignant as the ones I made as a child (except finally getting the experience to hike up Ash Creek with my dad two years ago. That was amazing!)  It isn’t always easy to transmit a piece of that history and family foundation. But I am trying, because Columbine is so much a part of me, and of who I am, and of my experiences.  I feel like a piece of my soul (one of the calmer, more relaxed, more youthful ones) is permanently embedded there. Which is why, on this Labor Day weekend, I am missing it so fiercely.

I didn’t get the opportunity to go up last summer, being hugely pregnant, and partially on bed rest. My wonderful husband (who tries hard to love the mountains and all that it entails, which I appreciate!) took our four small children up for the 4^th, so they could at least make it up once and be with their cousins. This summer we had two trips planned, and I was so looking forward to Labor Day especially. Instead, we had a forest fire. A really big one that left us hoping and praying and worrying for weeks at a time. Our cabins were spared, and we are amazingly grateful. But so much was lost that I’m sad about. Webb Peak may never be the same. So many beautiful trees were lost. I know the mountain will regrow and be fine in the long run. But I think I was really looking forward to visiting in person and seeing the damage, and the undamaged, with my own eyes. I know we should be able to go up next summer, and that many traditions and experiences will continue on unchanged, but until I make it back, something is missing.

Labor Day weekend

I grew up spending most of my Labor Days at the cabin in Columbine. Actually, I think I was 15 before I missed a 4th of July or Labor Day at the cabin, (unless the mountain was closed due to fire danger) and the only thing that could tear me away was FBLA Nationals at Disney World... Once we started having babies and moved out-of-state, making it to one of the big celebrations/family reunions/fun weekends got a lot more complicated, especially since my kids aren't great sleepers in the best of circumstances. Also, we started rotating holidays with my cousins' families, since there's just too many of us to all sleep comfortably up there together anyway. So I've missed more than I've made over the last 10 years. But the draw is still there, and when the 4th or Labor Day rolls around, I'm always a little discontent if I can't make it up there, at least for the day Saturday.
This last Labor Day was not our turn for the cabin, but a bunch of us were getting together anyway (everyone except Phil and Sophie, which were expecting their 3rd baby within weeks, and Jeremy, who had patients, and who always benefits from a few days of quiet while the rest of us are gone) and decided to go up for the day and make an outing of it. I'm not sure that my dad's ever gone up for the day on such a busy weekend (not his favorite) when we didn't even have the cabin. But we set up "camp" up next to the old church cabin concrete, and had fun, even with a handful of babies and lots of dirt.
The trip up was a little exciting. Shawn is not a good car sleeper, and I had quite the time getting him to go to sleep. I had 3 different kinds of pacifiers with me (none of which he had any interest in), but finally got him to accept one to fall asleep with. The rough road after the pavement ends always helps with that. Reilly had been excited to hike to the tower, and somehow it ended up being me, my dad (who carried Shawn, thank heavens - I'm not in hiking-at-10,000-feet shape), Reilly, Jaina (both of which did great), Justin (Emily's, 4.5 - he did pretty well as long as we kept encouraging him to keep moving), and Katy. Oh, Katy. She will not be making that hike again (with me) until she's at least 6. She did it, but there was much complaining and dramatics involved.
All in all it was a nice day. Fun to see some friends and relatives, enjoy the beautiful weather, and let my kids run around on the same dirt I've spent so much time on. :) It was also nice to be in Pima for a day or two afterwards, and get to visit with my sweet Grandma. All in all, worth the long drive!

(oh, and there may or may not have been an hour of two of driving around on all the back roads of Pima -minus kids or grandparents- setting off some small to medium fireworks and then all jumping in the truck and driving really fast somewhere else any time we saw lights...And no, we don't really all fit in the cab of the truck.)