Park City and its world-renowned ski resorts wouldn’t exist without miners.
It’s a simple fact of life, and Parkites are undoubtedly dedicated to remembering their past as a humble working town. “Silver,” the sought-after metal buried deep underneath our modern ski and bike shops, is a word included in numerous business names, neighborhoods and street signs in the Park City area, immediately cluing in visitors to the town’s previous life.
That’s also why hundreds of people gather on Labor Day each year to celebrate Miners Day, Park City’s own unique holiday that predates Labor Day’s establishment in 1894. In fact, this year was Park City’s 130th Miners Day.
For me, though, it was my first.
As much as I’d like to say I was up bright and early to run the Bark City 5K, I slept in a little bit and didn’t hit Main Street until around 9:30 a.m., although I heard nothing but positive things about the run as I chatted with people throughout the morning.
I took a page out of our copywriter and de facto transportation reporter Parker Mortensen’s book and parked at the Richardson Flat park and ride, opting to start my own relationship with High Valley Transit’s iconic buses rather than muscling my way into a parking garage near the hullabaloo.
It was quick, painless and incredibly easy, just like our first activity on Main Street: contributing $10 to the Rotary Club to participate in the annual Running of the Balls.
In my previous life, I worked behind the scenes for FOX 13 in Salt Lake City, and I remembered seeing b-roll of the bright yellow golf balls (that I mistakenly thought were tennis balls until someone in The Park Record office corrected me last week) in our system and thinking that was one of the funniest, coolest things I’d seen since moving to Utah. I was, therefore, more than excited to try it out for myself.
The Miners Day volunteers were instantly recognizable in the crowd, with many of them wearing shirts saying “I’ve got balls” to let you know you were, for sure, in the right place. From there, I scanned a QR code, entered my name and email address, double clicked my phone’s lock button to use Apple Pay and, voila, I had a golf ball. The whole process couldn’t have taken more than five seconds.
We hung around for a bit, ran into The Park Record’s chief photographer, Michael Ritucci, for a quick chat and walked around Main Street until it was time for the Running of the Balls.
Unfortunately, I still don’t know if I won because I forgot my ball’s number and the winning names haven’t been posted online as of Monday afternoon, but I still have hope that my little guy was a top 10 finisher.
After the event, which was exactly what I’d dreamed it would be, I ducked into the No Name Saloon for some water, a snack and to avoid the heat for a few minutes before taking my place on the side of the road for the parade at 11 a.m.
Being a reporter, I also took the opportunity to talk to folks who were waiting for the main event. Everyone was incredibly friendly, and I was surprised by the number of out-of-town visitors in attendance, most of whom had attended more Miners Day celebrations than I would have expected.
Kaylea and Jeff Schultz, who were visiting from Dallas, Texas, told me it was their second Miners Day, and they were especially grateful for the weather because it had been raining when they came two years ago.
Meanwhile, Carrie Lester from San Diego said it was her fourth year attending Miners Day with her husband, Scott. This year was a little different, though, for two key reasons. First, the family is planning to move to Park City as soon as possible, hopefully making this trip their last visit as out-of-towners. And second, their 2-year-old son, Charlie, is obsessed with golf balls, which makes the Running of the Balls a dream vacation destination.
For what it’s worth, I can personally attest to Charlie’s fascination with golf balls. I kept glancing at him while the balls were bouncing down Main Street, and I have never seen a 2-year-old stare at something so intently in my life. It was awesome.
The parade was great, too, and I loved seeing some familiar faces in the lineup. It was fun to cheer for all the nonprofits, and (full disclosure: I am a former band kid) I learned about the Wasatch Back Marching Band, a joint venture between kids in the Park City School District and South Summit School District, which I thought did a phenomenal job.
Post-parade, I made the journey down Main Street to City Park, ready to figure out what exactly a “mining competition” is. As it turns out, it’s awesome.
I still don’t really understand how the drill works, although I put together that hydraulics, water and being super heavy seem to be the most important factors when it comes to punching through hard rock. Even if I’m wrong, watching guys pick up the drill, slam it against the stone and shove as hard as possible was thrilling.
I enjoyed the mucking competition as well, but my favorite memory of the afternoon was sending videos of the two events to my mom in East Tennessee. She responded, “What in the world?!?!” and subsequently received an explanation of Park City’s mining history. My mom said the weather looked nice and it seemed like everyone was having a nice day, and I think they were.
With all the events of the day finished, I trekked one full minute to the bus stop and was back to my car in less than an hour. All in all, I think it was the best first Miners Day I could have asked for.
