My Great Grandfather, William W. Flanigan, was one of the first known people to hike the Zion Narrows. And according to an article on the Iron County Today website, written by Jay M. Jones, his first hike through the Narrows was on June 30, 1900.
I have had the opportunity to hike through the Narrows twice. The first time was with my Mom and many of my Flanigan Family Relatives on October 8, 1971. I was twelve years old at the time. The second time was a few years later while I was a High School student.
My Mom kept a copy of an article that was written about the hike I went on in 1971:
Clyde Gillette, my Mom’s cousin, was our guide and the hike was the first time I remember ever meeting him. He made quite an impression on me. Clyde passed away on June 9, 2015. I was able to share my memories of Clyde at his funeral:
My thoughts about Clyde Gillette
I shared a memory I have of Clyde with Janet via email and she asked if I would share it again today. I agreed, not because I look for opportunities to speak in public, but because of the positive impact Clyde had on my life when I was very young.
If you were to take all the time I’ve spent with Clyde and add up the minutes, it would total up to be less than two days-worth of time.
I believe it was 1971 and I was about 12 years old when my Mom asked me if I would like to go on a hike through the Zion Narrows with her and her cousin, Clyde Gillette, who would be our guide. I’m grateful that she asked me to go and I’m grateful that I agreed to go.
During the hike, with this smiling, gregarious, energetic man leading the way, we encountered several places that seemed impassable. At the first one, he stopped the group, pointed out the obstacle and said, “It looks impassable, but nature always provides a way around any obstacle.” He then proceeded to show us the way around; a hidden passage to the left of the obstacle.
That situation, that phrase and the conviction with which he said it has stuck with me.
After the hike, Clyde offered to fly us over the Zion Narrows so we could see where we had hiked from a different perspective. Neither my Mom nor I had ever flown before, so we weren’t quite sure what to expect. Clyde helped both of us into the plane, then walked around the front of the plane to get in, as he passed the propeller, he gave it a couple spins with his hands. He then climbed into the plane, looked at my Mom and me and said, “That oughta last us an hour”.
Then he grinned.
His grin, his humor, his magnanimous character, his determination and energetic spirit left a deep impression on me.
Thank you, Clyde
