[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 70 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1092]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LIFE AND WORK OF BART ANDERSON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM MATHESON

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 7, 2009

  Mr. MATHESON. Madam Speaker, southern Utah has lost a local treasure 
with the passing of Bart Anderson of St. George, Utah.
  Bart Anderson was often described by people who meet him for the 
first time as ``bear-sized Bart Anderson''. He loomed large in the 
community life of Washington County. He was a retired St. George 
hematologist, historian and folklorist. Everyone knew him as ``Ranger 
Bart'' because he devoted his golden years to giving slide shows at 
nearby national parks--including Zion National Park--as well as at 
state parks.
  I knew Bart Anderson as a man with a passion for the stories of this 
part of the West, known as Utah's Dixie--so named because cotton was 
one of the crops grown by the Mormon settlers here at the time of the 
Civil War.
  One of Bart's most popular presentations was one on the outlaw Butch 
Cassidy. It featured vintage photos of Butch Cassidy, who Bart often 
pointed out, could charm the locals and even the lawmen of that era.
  Bart was a talented and versatile man, who turned down a number of 
more lucrative business offers because they would take him away from 
Dixie and he said he had too much red dirt running through his veins to 
leave.
  As a child, he contracted polio and when doctors said he wouldn't 
walk again, his father threw him in the swimming pool to help make him 
strong. When he was 11, Bart's father arranged for him to work for the 
Boy Scouts as a guide into the back country. He developed a great love 
of hiking, including the Grand Canyon.
  As an adult, he merged his love of hiking with his passion for story-
telling by giving walking tours in downtown St. George. That morphed 
into a series of history lectures for which he developed over 100 slide 
programs that communicated his love of place to residents and visitors 
alike.
  He married his sweetheart--Delorice--whom he called ``the wind 
beneath my wings.'' She was often in the audience during his lectures 
and performances. Whether he was reciting ``The Ballad of Sam McGee'' 
around a campfire with a troop of Boy Scouts, or researching history at 
the Washington County Historical Society, Bart Anderson was happiest 
when he was immersed in folklore. He received many local state and 
national honors, including an award as Outstanding Volunteer from 
former First Lady Hillary Clinton.
  One of his close friends--Lyman Hafen--told the local newspaper that 
Anderson was one-of-a-kind--with a heart as big as Zion Canyon. I was 
very proud to be his friend and while he will be missed, he will never 
be forgotten.

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