Silver and Snow: The Park City Story
On Thursday, April 24, at 5 pm, in the Jim Santy Auditorium, Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History invite the public to a free screening of Silver and Snow: The Park City Story.
In conjunction with Park City Historical Society and Salt Lake Public Broadcasting TV station KUED, Larry Warren, former TV reporter expanded his resume by writing, producing and making this entertaining and informative documentary just in time to share with visitors at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. This will be the first public screening since then.
Warren recalls that first premiere to a full house at the Egyptian. “All my television documentary work was done for the small screen. Seeing this on a big screen in a full theater was thrilling. Hearing applause as credits rolled was gratifying, because you never get immediate feedback when your work is shown on a television screen in a home.”
Warren interviewed life-long residents, many descended from families in Park City from the 1880's. “Even when population was down to 1,100, no one could afford their taxes and the city was broke….these people did everything they could to stay in Park City and keep it going. The west is littered with thousands of ghost towns where people gave up and abandoned the town. In Park City, even as buildings crumbled around them, people stayed.”
Parkites today have few living links, and most, including those Warren interviewed, have passed away. “I hope viewers are interested in hearing these stories first hand. Some are sad, many are poignant, and some are downright hilarious. Jack Gallivan is a premier raconteur whose stories are laugh out loud funny--and accurate.”
Warren's hope is that his documentary will help new and future Parkites respect the past. “Today, with big money, fancy restaurants and homes, it’s hard to see the authentic, real, raw Park City of the mining era. Park City, with its existing mining structures and some semblance of authenticity in the homes of Old Town perched above Main Street makes it distinctly different from other ski towns. I hope respect remains for the town's past and deceased residents who kept it going with faith that Park City would change but survive. Preserving the mining structures to at least keep them from collapse is an important step.”
The DVD of Silver and Snow: The Park City Story is available at the Park City Museum store and will be on sale at the screening as part of the fundraiser. For more information visit Park City Film.