C. Don Bishop's Gain from the Motel.

Here's my grandfather, C. Don Bishop. Along with this motel being his pride, and eventual path to retirement, he had also moved the entire family to Logan in 1947, so to ensure that everyone could obtain a college education from Utah State University. As he received his Masters in Education Administration shortly afterwards, three out of four children also received at least their Bachelors degrees, ranging from English, Education, and Engineering throughout the following years.

In a greater sense, he was able to make his entire life here in Logan as a successful businessman and motel owner, all the while providing for his family. However, it never meant that he became rich off of his endeavors - but simply busy, and happy for the outcomes of his hard work. 

Take a small look at the brown car to the right of my grandfather. Could that be a trashed wedding reception vehicle?

"After we bought the place….well, everything was different. People treated us different and that wasn’t always better. I didn’t understand until years later when I found out that people thought we had purchased it for over a half-million dollars and where did we get that kind of money, anyway?? Lower-middle-class school teacher to a ‘big business owner’ overnight.  If people only knew….the actual purchase price was slightly more than half the value everyone gossiped about." - Jerold Bishop

Since Logan was an exceptionally small city during this time (and still is without question), I'm pretty sure that all work put into this operation was a matter of pride and integrity, more than anything else. Not to say that it didn't incite the speculation and jealousy of certain neighbors, regardless of the circumstances. 

When they finally sold the motel, they only received an amount slightly higher than their buying price. In full respect, they were able to make some money off of it, but not a large amount by any respect.

"The end finally came in 1970. Dad had always said he’d like to keep it seven years and then get out. He was fifty-three the year we started and we had taken it over in April of 1963. In April of 1970 Dad closed a deal with Utah State University to purchase the property. It was the best of all worlds for them (I think…they got some needed space) and us (a better buyer you could never have found). Dad didn’t get a much more than what he paid for the place originally, but it was all his now and that was the best part. That was his retirement. He and mom bought a decent home and got out of the rat race. I will never forget the day they settled the deal, when he and mom came back and told me it was over. She was the most happy I could ever remember, nearly giddy and almost crying with relief at the same time.

They let us stay for another summer and bank all the money. The easiest summer to do for us all." - Jerold Bishop

 

Running the Motel and the Restaurant

"Maureen Jensen, our office receptionist and day clerk looking out from behind the main office of the motel, after we had remodeled." - C. Don Bishop

 

Keep note of the "Friendship Inn Motels" sign at the head of the desk. Remember, this was the franchise the motel was a part of. 

 

 "Behind the counter of our main office at the motel. One of our very fine clerks, Trudy Christensen. Yes, we really did run a fine program." - C. Don Bishop

 

Look past the clerk and you'll see an array of scenic post cards being displayed for sale.

 

Here is a shot adjacent to the motel desk, with tourist pamphlets, road maps, and candy being sold to patrons. 

Picture of Kent, Thelma, Linda Bishop with a friend, all having dinner in the Bridgerland Coffee Shop.

"The last big adventure up there started in about that time. We wiped out the family room nearest the office (we did our own night clerking by then) and rebuilt the office into a small restaurant. “Bridgerland Coffee Shop” we called it. We had about 10 tables and a decent kitchen; we could serve up to about forty-five people, which in the Logan, Utah of 1968-1970 was significant. There were only six or eight other eating establishments in town then. We hired a cook-waitress team who had worked for years at the old Zanavoo Lodge up the canyon and in a single bold stroke, we became a much bigger act. People came. Mostly out of desperation, I’m sure, but our cook was pretty good and we had a remarkable success with local regulars as well as making our guests very happy with a nearby place to eat. Until then it was either the Frederico’s Pizzeria nearby or downtown.  

The best part for me was that our new cook had neglected to consider her day’s off. I became the master chef on the swing shift. It was honestly a lot of fun to do. We hired the youngest daughter of the waitress to work as the backup waitress as well. Probably my best memories of the place was eating all the ice cream I could manage (purchased as always from the USU Creamery) and sitting on the back steps with Suzy having a great time between customers." - Jerold Bishop

Here's a cool memento from the Highway 89 collection - an actual 1969 copy of the menu from the restaurant: http://highway89.org/items/show/10262

Totally vintage... if you can call it that.

"Linda and her friend Miss Davis posed inside my office counter at the motel. These girls spent a lot of time playing they were taking care of my customers." C. Don Bishop

      

        Those girls dresses are so retro....

Note About National Park Tourism in the 1960's

           As mentioned in the previous post, Jackson Hole was a destination that many patrons drove home from, and would take the long route from there, through Bear Lake, and into Logan. Largely during the 1960's, National Park tourism was in the middle of a huge boom, due to the affordability of family vehicles, easier wages, and the concept of the 'family vacation'. 
           Yellowstone, even though it was high up in the Northwest corner of Wyoming, was one of the largest attractions in the Western part of the United States. Between the years of 1960 to 1970, an increase grew from 1,443,288 to 2,297,290 tourists per year in the park alone. And it is very possible that some families intended to see the hidden beauty of Bear Lake on their drive home, south from the park as well, if not just passing through.

 https://web.archive.org/web/20061014222808/http://www.nps.gov/yell/parkmgmt/historicstats.htm

          Because of these people, their need for a place to stop off and rest was a great one. Logan Canyon was a small, two - lane road that was barely being expanded upon in the lower part by the mid-60's. Because of the difficult road constructs, driving was the majority of their trip, as this type of tourism was becoming a national past-time for families to revel in. And since there was next to nothing for lodging in Garden City, the Mitchell Motel was a welcomed site for many who were passing through. 

The Wide Range of Tourists and Patrons at the Mitchell Motel

"I remember the prices back then. I think about $6 or $7 a night for a single room. Family rooms with three double beds would go around $15 to $18 a night average, though in summer I think these went up a little.

Our clientele ranged throughout the year. In the summer, our best bet was the accidental tourist on his way from Jackson Hole to Salt Lake City. They’d pop out of the Canyon on Highway 89 looking for the first place that had a bed. They always had a glazed-over look on their faces (who could blame them after driving through Logan Canyon in the old two-lane days). We had beds, a pool and the best view around and they stopped fast, stacking up three and four deep at the counter sometimes. Our summer business was great. Easterners on their first trip through the mountains would have paid double our asking price probably but dad never jacked his prices like that." - Jerold Bishop

"These two couples were sales personnel of the Tupperware company from Australia. (The annual convention drew about 2000." - C. Don Bishop

 

 

"A last short meeting of the "Tupperware V.I.P's" just before returning to Florida after a ten day convention here in Logan. These people held one of their two conventions in Logan every year. The main VIP staff stayed with us. We got to know them all well." - C. Don Bishop

"Winter sucked a bit, at least for my dad. We barely made expenses from Sept through April. In May was the build-up to Utah State Commencement (they call it graduation now). We did get good business from Utah State, people either coming in to visit their children at school, attend some function or whatever. The university was our second big source of income from the start. In those days the Tupperware Corporation had one of their two big, annual Conventions at Utah State every year and their ‘high-rollers’ (the staff) stayed with us. A week to ten days of complete occupancy. They were a real party…I got my first (and last) ride in a private Lear jet with them when they invited dad and I to fly down with the pilots to drop the company president in Salt Lake to grab a plane to somewhere. Their pilots always stayed with us as well, so it was old-home week when they came to town." -Jerold Bishop