Photos Available Upon Request
For Immediate Release (August 30, 2010)
Beehive Archive
Welcome to the Beehive Archive—your weekly bite-sized look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah history. With all of the history and none of the dust, the Beehive Archive is a fun way to catch up on Utah’s past.
Beehive Archive is a production of the Utah Humanities Council, provided to local papers as a regular (weekly) feature article focusing on Utah history topics drawn from our award-winning radio series, which can be heard on KCPW and Utah Public Radio on Friday mornings. These press releases will be distributed by the Utah Press Association to Utah papers and may be published at their discretion, so long as UHC is credited using this language: “Beehive Archive is a production of the Utah Humanities Council. Sources consulted in the creation of the Beehive Archive and past episodes may be found at www.utahhumanities.org/BeehiveArchive.htm.”
Past episodes have uncovered some great stories including:
* the first cremation in Utah history (and only the second in modern U.S. history)
* the flag Mormon pioneers flew to celebrate their entry into the Salt Lake Valley (hint: it wasn't the Stars and Stripes)
* the 1940s campaign to register non-citizen aliens living in Utah
This week’s story:
Ab Jenkins, Salt Lake City’s Car-Racing, Record Breaking Mayor
Sixty years ago, on Labor Day 1950, Utah native Ab Jenkins broke a bundle of national and world speed records on Utah's salt flats. He was 67 years old.
Born in Spanish Fork in 1883, Jenkins started racing motorcycles on the west desert as a youngster. Later, when a highway was built across the salt flats, the road's designer – who was also a friend – asked Jenkins to race against a train to christen the new highway. He beat the train by five minutes.
Jenkins soon became the man to beat on the Salt Flats. In 1932, he got the idea to build a circular track on the flats and race around it for an entire day and night at 100 miles per hour. Members of his crew had to shelter themselves under a sheep wagon, and he was timed using stopwatches. On one occasion, at the beginning of a 24-hour speed trial, Jenkins detached his car's windshield, smeared grease on his face to protect it from the elements, and took off. At the end of the race, his average speed ended up being more than a hundred miles an hour.
The popularity Jenkins won from these and other stunts eventually propelled him into the Salt Lake City mayor's office, but his new job didn't stop him from racing. In 1940, the "racing mayor" broke 21 records and got up to 189 miles per hour on one lap of a 24-hour run. By his 1950 Labor Day race, which ended up being his last, he had held and shattered more records than any other person in land speed racing. His last car—which he called Mormon Meteor III—was eventually refurbished by his son Marvin, and was displayed for years in the Utah State Capitol building.
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The Utah Humanities Council is a nonprofit organization that provides lifelong learning across the state through programs that explore diverse traditions, values, and ideas. UHC is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks Fund, the State of Utah, and gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Each year, the Council underwrites hundreds of educational and cultural programs throughout Utah. For more information, visit www.utahhumanities.org or www.facebook.com/utahhumanitiescouncil.
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