Graffiti-covered industrial concrete ruins are all that remain today to remind us of the lives, adventures, and human relationships that once animated Bauer, Utah. Located just south of Tooele, across the Oquirrh Mountains west of the Salt Lake Valley, Bauer was abandoned in 1979 and declared a toxic waste site. Stephen Lottridge’s The Book of Bauer: Stories from a Forgotten Town brings it back to life, evoking mid-twentieth century family and community in that company town as seen through the eyes of an observant adolescent boy. Presenting a dramatic snapshot of life in Bauer in narrative autobiographical form, the book recalls the fate of hundreds of derelict mining towns throughout the mountain and sagebrush West.
Stephen S. Lottridge is the author of Three White Pelicans: Stories for Stephanie and Deirdre and The Old Bison: Threads from the Fabric of a Western Life. His award-winning play Gun Control was produced by Riot Act Inc. theater company. His poetry and essays have appeared in print journals, anthologies, and online.
