© 2024 KPCW

KPCW
Spencer F. Eccles Broadcast Center
PO Box 1372 | 460 Swede Alley
Park City | UT | 84060
Office: (435) 649-9004 | Studio: (435) 655-8255

Music & Artist Inquiries: music@kpcw.org
News Tips & Press Releases: news@kpcw.org
Volunteer Opportunities
General Inquiries: info@kpcw.org
Listen Like a Local Park City & Heber City Summit & Wasatch counties, Utah
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Parkites who made Park City home in 1970s reconnect at reunion

Annie McMullen and Sandy Kinter organized the Park City 1970s reunion.
Kristine Weller
/
KPCW
Annie McMullen and Sandy Kinter organized the Park City 1970s reunion.

The joyous atmosphere of the '70s returned to Park City Saturday as hundreds of people who called the city home back then gathered for a reunion.

Hundreds went through the No Name Saloon on Park City’s Main Street Saturday for a 1970s reunion. The bar and grill was filled with joyful reunions, hugs and some tears.

Many wore name tags and pins reading “NOT Old as Dirt.” Some still live in the area, others traveled from across the U.S. to celebrate.

Annie McMullen and Sandy Kinter organized the event. They said more than 400 people RSVP’d for the reunion and even more who didn’t RSVP arrived to celebrate. The attendees all lived in the mountain town during the ‘70s.

Park City 1970s reunion.
Kristine Weller
/
KPCW
Park City 1970s reunion.

The last reunion was around 20 years ago, and the pair felt it was time for another one. McMullen said they wanted a joyous reason to get together, instead of memorials where many have been meeting lately.

“We’ve all been dealing with our parents passing, and all of a sudden that's hit home, and our generation is starting to pass,” she said. “So we figured that we should get together and just celebrate all of us, folks who are still kicking around.”

Kinter said she was so happy everyone made an effort to get together.

“I'm so happy. I'll probably cry every 10 minutes because of all these faces that we're seeing and we're still above ground and not older than dirt,” she said.

The ‘70s was a transformational period for Park City. While the city struggled financially at the time, it was also a time when locals could ski powder runs until noon, buy a Main Street building for back taxes and hop between watering holes.

At the time, McMullen said locals were either former miners or skiers.

“We were kind of the first generation of people that came to Park City, we were all ski bums. That's how we all started out, and we like to say that we kind of built the city. I mean, we really did,” McMullen said. 

John Vrabel moved to Park City in 1964 and still lives in Old Town. He said houses were really cheap and the skiing was good.

“Back then, it snowed a lot. I mean, the first winter, ‘68 ‘69, that I lived in the house, I measured the snow from the top of my step 10 feet up,” he said. “It was a glory year for skiing, and it just stayed fun.”

Since he moved to the area, Vrabel said it’s gotten a bit crowded for his taste, but he still enjoys some peace in the morning. Vrabel also said it’s been nice to reconnect with old friends and share stories from leaving or staying.

Park City 1970s reunion.
Kristine Weller
/
KPCW
Stanley Cordova attended the Park City 1970s reunion. He lived in Park City in 1978 but now lives in San Diego, California.

Stanley Cordova is one former Parkite who now lives in San Diego, California. He lived in Park City in 1978 and said at the time it was pretty laid back.

“This was a town with no stoplights, no fast food, when you had too much to drink at night, the police were out front and they give you a ride home,” he said.

McMullen and Kinter said they hope the group will stay in touch now that they’ve all reconnected.

KPCW wants to hear your stories from the 1970s.

Fill out this online form and we will contact you for an audio interview where you can share your unique Park City stories from days gone by as part of KPCW's Historic Audio Archives.