BRYCE CANYON, Utah — To celebrate the centennial of Bryce Canyon National Park, a historic service station opened after World War II that holds extra special memories for one Utah couple was restored.
Mervin Barnhurst was the former manager of the service station and worked there shortly after it opened.
"When I got out of the army, I was working down Zion and they advertised the Bryce Canyon job of managing the service station," Barnhurst remembered.
The station connected the motoring public to the park and made sure if guests needed a quick fix, they could get back on their journey in no time.
"With the resuming of tourist travel after the war, they saw automobile use just skyrocketing," Peter Densmore, spokesperson for Bryce Canyon said.
"I spent quite a bit of my time unlocking cars, people that go lock their keys in the car and couldn't get back in," Barnhurst explained.
But on Barnhurst's first day at the station, 57 years ago, he met someone who would change his life forever.
"I just went to dinner and she waited my table and she, I knew the minute I saw her," Barhurst said. "I had a brand new, Chevy Chevelle I bought this before I moved out there. So it made an impression."
It was love at first sight for Barnhurst and Lorna Pollock and less than a year after meeting, the couple tied the knot.
"I moved out there and I think it was May, it was either April or May and we met the first day I was there and, we went together all summer and November 12, we got married," he said.
Six kids and many grandkids later, the Barnhursts are still together, living at the nearby Garfield County Nursing home, more in love than ever before.
So maybe, as the service station is restored for visitors to check out, the Barnhurst's story will spark love for another couple.
"We want these places to be available for the people to interact with and connect with," Barnhurst reflected.
The station has been closed in 1988 as it took a while to get all the historic preservation restoration work done.
But now, it will serve as a place to rent bikes to ride the rim and serve as a reminder of the rich history of one of Utah's "Might Five" National Parks.
