EXHIBITS
Old Ephraim: The Legendary Grizzly of the Bear River Range: The Legend Lives On
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The Legend Lives On
Though the details may have changed over the years, stories continue to revere Old Ephraim and reminisce about the days that once were, back when the old grizzly bear ruled the forest. To many, Old Ephraim represents a wilder time when life was simpler and people were tougher. His death marked the point when the wild was taken out of the wilderness and the forest became tamer. This longing for an earlier era also reminds us of the significant impact our activities have on the environment and that the health of our mountains and its wildlife depend on our ability to restrain our most destructive impulses and balance our needs with those of the natural world.
If the story of Old Ephraim was not important to Cache Valley and the greater region, it would have long been forgotten. Instead, people wrote songs about the grizzly’s death and local businesses constructed statues of the bear. Even some 100 years after his demise, Salt Lake City’s Uinta Brewing Company named a beer after Old Ephraim, and the overall winners of the Bear 100, a local ultramarathon, are given the Old Ephraim Award. In his later years, Frank Clark admitted regret in killing Old Ephraim and said that if he was faced with the chance to do it again, he would decline.[1] Perhaps Clark would find some consolation in the bear’s enduring legacy.
Old Ephraim Songs
