Sally Cousins Elliott has lived a life of adventures. Some came from being a military wife of 19 years. Some from growing up in Muskogee Oklahoma, the Indian Capital of the world; she said where the Five Civilized Tribes were administered after removal, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Cherokee- all part of the Oklahoma Territory. And she had other adventures -from running a ski school in Korea to a horse farm in Oklahoma. So many changes came from just inventing a new life, each time she landed as military wife in a new state or country.
The timbers that make up her building a life in Park City are seasoned and strong. They have family and country, and recreation and service all latticed together.
By the time she and her husband “Torch” (Charles) arrived in Park City in 1986, she knew she wanted to raise her family here. And she wanted to make up a life full of adventures for herself and guests. Sally became part of the politics of place- serving both as a (Park) City Council person and a (Summit) County Councilor. Her work…with historic structures, came from her commitment to both history and tourism. She found those two (formerly) seemingly opposite ideas were best served by being complimentary.
And practical Sally just invented a new life whenever she landed in a new state or country.
She skipped her senior year of high school and went straight to college where she majored in sociology. She met Torch through good friends at the University of Oklahoma. They were best friends from 1961-67 when they married. Torch was based at Fort Sill as an artillery officer in the Army. Sally started organizing Girl Scout troops - in the area.
Later in Lawton, Sally was part of the Garden Club and was employed at the Girl Scout office there. On a tour in El Paso, Sally managed a federal grant to send disadvantaged girls to Girl Scout Camps.
From 1971-73 she learned to ski and snowshoe when Torch was sent to Alaska -Northern Warfare Training Center.
In 1984 Torch was assigned to Korea in semi-diplomatic position in technology transfer. She taught English and skiing- and trained a team of 19 ski instructors. That program ran for ten years.
By the time she and Torch arrived in Park City in 1986, so he could acquire his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah, they decided they never wanted to leave. Sally knew she wanted to make up a life full of adventures for herself, her family and her guests.
By 1995 Sally created her own destination management company called Utah Escapades, helping to co-ordinate events for visitors.
The election of 2004 had proved a watershed moment for governance in Summit County. The form of county government changed, putting a full-time county manager in place. And for the first time in anyone’s memory, four Democrats (including Sally) were elected to the new County Council along with a lone Republican, David Ure. Sally had previously served as a Park City Council person in 1989 -94 and a County Commissioner. She ran for the State legislature in 1994 and lost.
In the early 90's the County Commission approved a Kmart at Kimball Junction. Sally famously said, “We are not Kmart people.” But the vote passed, and the corporation built the first (real) big box corporate business in Summit County. By the time of the 2002 Olympics, it was vacant and used to issue uniforms to volunteers.
Sally remembers the major issues the county council debated then were to create affordable housing, transportation issues and a better trail system connecting Park City with the rest of the county.
In 2013 she helped Sandra Morrison from the Park City Historical Society raise the money for the completion of the digitalization of the Park Record, from 1980 to present. Those records are digitally available at the Marriott Library at the University of Utah. (Hard bound copies can be found in the Park City Library.)
In 2015 Sally and Sandra spoke with Blaise Carrig and the next year with Bill Rock at the Park City Mountain Resort. They agreed to help the Historic Society create a pathway to preserve the old mining structures. Vail VP Kristen Williams and Rory Murphy helped put together a meeting of 20 volunteers who set about creating a plan for preservation and restoration of old mine buildings.
Construction contractor, Clark Martinez, a fourth-generation underground miner in Park City, brought his Xcavation company to get to work on the list of 11 or 12 buildings in need of stabilizing.
The first project was the counterweight for the King Con Tramway. Then County Council member, Doug Clyde, who worked for the Resort at the time, famously told the group of ski industry folks who were building the zip line, “If you don’t move it to a safe place- Sally will come after me!”
And then, in 2015, the Daly West structure collapsed, and Sally said “we suddenly got everything we asked for…”
Some of Sally’s history lessons came from a few local women who had been keeping the faith and the stories. Nan McPolin of the famed early pioneer family in Park City (think McPolin Barn and sodas) told Sally she needed to see a Utah town that had also been a mining town. It was a cautionary tale to what Park City could become. So, she picked Nan up and the pair drove to Eureka, Utah -more than two hours southwest of here. It inspired Sally to want to save as many Park City structures as possible. Bea Kummer added her many stories and miner-turned-snow-groomer Loran Larsen drove her around in his rusty old yellow truck to see the many mine remnants on the mountain.
In May of this year, Sally received the esteemed Lucy Beth Rampton award from the Utah Heritage Foundation. The award had previously been given to Park City legend, Tina Lewis, who accompanied her to the ceremony. Just last week, Sally also received the Myles Rademan Spirit of Hospitality Award.
Somewhere in her computer Sally has a book on Park City she has been writing for years. She says it is fully foot-noted. It is titled, The Mines, The Mills, and The Moguls.
And while that is destined to be a tasty read, there is no doubt there is a different book bubbling in Sally, something about adapting to change while being an Officer’s wife. It includes lifelong education, and a curiosity and commitment to making each place she landed, just a little more colorful and connected with a consciousness of what, and who, came before.
As the summer gardens bloom around Old Town, it is a reminder that blooming where you are planted can become a kind of practical magic.