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Textured Paper Surface

Part III

PART III

Chapters 19–30

Work, Art, And The Making Of A Self

Many of the places in these chapters have changed or disappeared: Casey Jones Junction has been dismantled, the old Murray High School replaced, the pedestrian bridge removed, and Take Five's corner redeveloped. The photographs below pair what remains with family images and artifacts from the years when work, art, and independence began to shape me.

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This archive is still growing. If you have photographs of these places that you would like to share, I would be grateful to hear from you.

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Narrow bridge and road through dense trees at the former Casey Jones Junction Cub Scout day camp.

Bridge over Millcreek leading out of retired Cub Scout day camp, Casey Jones Junction

Photograph by the author

6 August 2025​

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Wooded clearing at the former Casey Jones Junction parking area, with dry grass beneath mature trees.

Parking oval at the site of Casey Jones Junction

Photograph by the author

6 August 2025​

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Small rustic log trading-post cabin surrounded by trees in Millcreek Canyon.

Trading post in Millcreek Canyon, similar to the one in Casey Jones Junction which has been removed

Photograph by the author

6 August 2025​

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Yellow Union Pacific caboose with exterior stairs and cupola, displayed on tracks in Ogden, Utah.

Cabooses at Union Pacific Station in Ogden, Utah

These may be the ones relocated from Casey Jones Junction

Photograph by the author

5 August 2026​

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Interior of a historic Union Pacific caboose.

Union Pacific caboose interior

Photograph by the author

5 August 2026

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Front porch of a weathered log trading-post cabin among the trees in Millcreek Canyon.

Trading post in Millcreek Canyon

Photograph by the author

6 August 2025​

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Sunlight shining through a dense green canopy of trees above the Millcreek Canyon parking area.

Canopy of leaves above parking area in Millcreek Canyon

Photograph by author

6 August 2025​

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Ornate historic stone building in downtown Salt Lake City that housed the Hansen Planetarium from 1965 to 2003.

Building that housed the Hansen Planetarium 1965–2003

Photograph by the author

6 August 2026

 

Long, nearly empty view south along State Street between downtown buildings as it disappears into the horizon.

Long stretch of State Street

Cars and glare removed

Photograph by Loxwyn DeWitt

6 August 2026

 

Tenth grade book stack

Murray High School with smoke stack in background

Video still by Emily DeWitt

Around 1994

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Murray High School

Video still by Emily DeWitt

Around 1994

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Pedestrian bridge and Hillcrest Junior High in background

Video still by Emily DeWitt

Around 1994

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1990s video still of the old Murray High School with one tall Murray smelter smokestack rising behind it.
1990s video still showing the long brick facade and windows of the old Murray High School.
1990s video still of the enclosed pedestrian bridge near Hillcrest Junior High, with students standing nearby.
Tall stack of worn tenth-grade literature books, including The Odyssey, Sophocles, Beowulf, Cyrano de Bergerac, and more.
Murray Library viewed across its parking lot on a gray winter afternoon.
Murray Library entrance beneath a wide angular canopy decorated with hanging snowflakes and a holiday wreath.
North side of Murray Library with tall windows, bare trees, and the angular roofline visible from the lawn.

Murray Library front entrance

Photograph by the author

23 December 2010

Murray Library north windows

Photograph by the author

23 December 2010

Take Five Drive-In with its red roof, outdoor tables, and roadside sign, seen across 5300 South in summer 1996.
Closed Take Five Drive-In beneath a gray sky, with its roadside sign announcing the end of 35 years in business.
Side of the closed Take Five Drive-In with its small drive-up service window beneath the red roof.

Take Five Drive-In closed

Photograph by the author

23 December 2010

 

Take Five Drive-In

Photograph by the author

Summer 1996

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Drive up window at Take Five

Photograph by the author

23 December 2010

 

Images of Take Five Drive-In

Photographs by the author

 

Dim hallway in the DeWitt home during the 1994 remodel, with exposed wood flooring and doorways leading toward the kitchen.

Hallway during remodel

Photograph by the author

Summer 1994

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Nearly empty living room during the 1994 remodel, with bare wood floor, television, fireplace, and sunlight across the floor.

Living room during remodel

Photograph by the author

Summer 1994

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Narrow dirt trail winding through dense trees at Camp Tracy, used for the Haunted Woods attraction.

Trail at Camp Tracy used for Haunted Woods

Photograph by the author

6 August 2025

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Metal hand-washing trough beside a wooded trail at Camp Tracy, with a small cabin roof visible below.

Hand wash trough at Camp Tracy

Photograph by the author

6 August 2025​

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Camp Tracy lodge across a calm green lake, surrounded by trees and steep mountain slopes.

Lodge at Camp Tracy across the lake

Photograph by the author

6 August 2025

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Haunted picnic table

This table has the same build and location as the one Brandon used for his scarecrow routine

Photograph by the author

6 August 2025

Weathered wooden picnic table beside the Camp Tracy lodge, similar to the table used for Brandon’s scarecrow routine.
Alan W. Layton Center for Youth Leadership lodge at Camp Tracy, framed by trees beneath a timbered entrance.

Lodge at Camp Tracy

Photograph by the author

6 August 2025

Rafters in the lodge

6 August 2025

Photograph by the author

Large empty Camp Tracy lodge hall with stone fireplace, exposed timber rafters, tall windows, and an upper balcony.

Brandon & Lacy in the backyard

Photograph by Brian DeWitt

Brandon's sketch of Lacy

29 September 1994

Lacy licking her nose

Photograph by Brian DeWitt

Pencil sketch of Lacy in profile, panting with her front paws extended, drawn by Brandon on September 29, 1994.
Lacy, a fluffy white American Eskimo dog, playing outside in the snow.
Close-up of Lacy with her eyes partly closed and her tongue curled over her nose.
Teenage Brandon sitting on the backyard grass with Lacy, the family’s fluffy white dog.

Lacy playing in the snow

Photograph by Brian DeWitt

Title page of Brandon’s 1995 eleventh-grade paper, “Fitzgerald: The Learning Writer.”
Preface to Brandon’s 1995 Fitzgerald paper, typed on binder paper with handwritten teacher comments, "Yes, ah!," in the margin.

Sample pages of Brandon's eleventh-grade Gatsby paper

1995

Brandon in a black tuxedo standing beside a mirror at home while preparing for junior prom.

Brandon preparing for prom

10 March 1995

Photograph by Elaine DeWitt

Brandon seen from behind while checking his bow tie in an oval mirror before junior prom.

Brandon checking his tie

Original photograph by Elaine DeWitt

10 March 1995

 

Clarified version of Brandon checking his bow tie with harsh lighting and shadows removed.

Clarified image

Elevated view of Temple Square from The Roof restaurant, with the Salt Lake Temple and surrounding downtown buildings below.

View of Temple Square from The Roof restaurant

Photograph by the author

6 August 2026

 

View from the Utah State Capitol grounds toward downtown Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Mountains beneath an American flag.

Viewing State Street from the Utah State Capitol

Photograph by the author

1 April 2022

Front view of the Utah State Capitol and its domed neoclassical facade beneath a blue sky.

The Utah State Capitol building

Photograph by the author

1 April 2022

Brandon in a tuxedo standing beside his prom date on the Utah State Capitol staircase; date covered by a privacy silhouette.

Junior prom photo with silhouette applied for privacy

Unaltered print is available

10 March 1995

 

Grand marble staircase inside the Utah State Capitol beneath an arched glass ceiling and large historical mural.

Steps in the Utah State Capitol building

Photograph by the author

1 April 2022

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First handwritten page of Brandon’s March 21, 1995 journal entry recounting junior prom, with several passages redacted.
Second handwritten page of Brandon’s March 21, 1995 junior prom journal entry, with passages redacted for privacy.

Journal entry from March 21, 1995 recounting junior prom

A background footer image with torn paper fragements, in sunset tones, layered to form the rocky rise and ridgeline of Mount Olympus.
Envelope icon that opens email to correspond about Hillside Boy.

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