When the first Euro-American colonists arrived in the Great Basin, they found Utah Lake to be teeming with more than a dozen native species of fish. Settlers found the June sucker, Utah sucker, chub and cutthroat trout to be the most useful table fish.

But after three decades of intensive fishing and reckless disregard for proper conservation, the number of trout had drastically declined. Pisciculturalists sought an easy-to-propagate, good-tasting and commercially valuable game fish to replace the dwindling number of cutthroat trout in the lake.

With the completion of the transcontinental railroad through Utah Territory in 1869 the way opened for the introduction of new species. Salmon, shad, eel and catfish were unsuccessfully introduced in the 1870s.

Then in 1881, Utah's Territorial Fish Commissioner cooperated with the United States Fish Commission to successfully introduce Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus to Utah.

These fish adapted much more successfully than the other introduced species, and carp, as we call them, were here to stay. Some people call them more colorful but less socially acceptable names.

Carp found their way into Utah Lake some time in the early 1880s. They multiplied prolifically, grew rapidly and gradually took over. Their success exceeded all expectations. They were much less successful at winning the hearts of Utah Valley's residents.

Fishermen snubbed the sluggish carp. Most felt that any true angler would have nothing to do with them.

The fact that anybody could enjoy catching a carp with hook and line amused the editor of the Springville Independent. During the spring of 1898, he wrote, "People who enjoy a mildly exciting sport, in which there is no particular fun, danger or profit, are now catching carp."

Most Utah housewives never accepted carp wholeheartedly as fit for the dining room table. Many devotees of the culinary arts agreed with the editor of the Independent when he wrote that the carp was "a meek, inoffensive sort of fish with small ambitions intellectually, and no desire whatever toward ever becoming good eating."

Despite the prevailing negative opinion, Utah Lake's common fish species -- the carp, sucker and chub -- proved to be a much needed boon to ordinary Utahns during the difficult economic times that gripped the United States in the latter part of the 1800s and the first half of the 20th century.

An idea is born

Worldwide economic optimism and speculation reigned during the late 1880s and early 1890s. This led to financial overextension, and vast international financial concerns failed. Money became scarce, and many lost their jobs.

By 1893, as many as 48 percent of Utah's work force was unemployed, and many families lacked food.

Compassionate people worked to alleviate the suffering by transforming unused land into gardens for the poor.

In this difficult time, A. Milton Musser, Utah's Fish Commissioner, developed a plan that would put Utah Lake's common fish to good use. He activated his scheme October 31, 1895, when he sent identical letters to Utah County Fish Commissioner Myron C. Newell and two prominent Utah Lake fishermen, J.W. Clark and Mads Peter Madsen.

Musser asked the three men where carp were most numerous in Utah Lake and what was the easiest method of catching them. Then Musser revealed his tentative plan: catch a few tons of common fish and make them available to the poor and hungry of Salt Lake City.

All three men forwarded the requested information to Musser, and Madsen and Clark went one step further. They volunteered to help catch the fish.

With the help of these men and church leaders representing several religious denominations in Salt Lake City, Musser did not delay. He set aside Nov. 12 as the day for seining the fish from the lake and Nov. 14 as the distribution day in Salt Lake City.

Only one glitch kept the plan from working flawlessly. Bad weather kept the fishermen off Utah Lake until Nov. 13, and that delayed fish distribution until Nov. 15.

When the storm cleared, a group of fishermen launched boats and moved directly to the fishing areas. They represented the fishing outfits of James Fisher, John W. Clark, Halladay and Vincent, and Madsen and Sons, all of Provo; and Nielson and Holman of Lake Shore. Other fishermen who lived in the north end of the county also contributed.

At the end of a successful day of seining with a large net, the fishermen returned to shore with the required amount of common fish and delivered them to a boxcar waiting on a nearby railroad siding. Workmen loaded these denizens of the not-so-deep aboard the car and the Denver and Rio Grande Western transported the slippery cargo to Salt Lake City free of charge.

In Utah's capital city, Mormon Bishop William B. Preston received the fish and arranged to distribute them from the LDS Church's general storehouse.

At this location, ministers representing a variety of Salt Lake City denominations doled out fish to the needy regardless of race, religion or political party. That day the volunteers handed out between 5,000 and 6,000 pounds of common fish, and the project was deemed a huge success.

During dole day, the impoverished recipients received not only carp, sucker and chub from Utah Lake, but common fish netted from the Sevier River and shipped to Salt Lake City by rail.

A few of the city's poor had apparently never been taught that it was impolite to look a gift fish through the gills. After they had eaten, a number of the destitute humbly observed that the carp from the Sevier River tasted better than the carp from Utah Lake.

Mads Peter Madsen, son of pioneering Utah Lake fisherman Peter Madsen, attempted to explain the reason for this difference in taste. He revealed that volunteer fishermen caught most of the Utah Lake carp on the east shore where the water was "sloughy." It was his opinion that living in the slough had given the fish a muddy taste. Fish caught on the west side of the lake, where sloughs were fewer, seemed free of the objectionable flavor.

After hearing this explanation, a newspaper reporter sagely observed, "This will explain differences of opinion often expressed." The reporter concluded that it was unjust to condemn "the whole tribe on account of the bad habits of a few disreputable east siders."

Late in Nov. 1895, Utah County commercial fishermen implemented a modified version of Musser's plan to provide fish for the poor. Andrew and John Madsen donated 550 pounds of common fish to the needy who lived in their neighborhood.

John Johnson, Lakeview's LDS bishop, arranged for the distribution. He assigned Niels Larsen to deliver 300 pounds to destitute members in the north section of the ward. Bishop Johnson and Louis Olsen handed out 250 pounds of the finny tribe to members who lived in the south end. These gifts came just before Thanksgiving, and the recipients were all very appreciative.

The people of Payson received about 840 pounds of free Utah Lake fish the same week from commercial fishermen who lived in the south end of the county.

Many other humble people who were not destitute enjoyed eating the common fish harvested from Utah Lake. In December 1895, Utah County Fish Commissioner Myron Newell estimated that during the year commercial fishermen had caught 133,324 pounds of carp and 189,000 pounds of sucker and chub. People in central Utah, especially those of Scandinavian and German descent, bought the most and used them as table food.

The Salt Lake Herald commented that in 1896 carp was becoming the food of the common man, or those who ate "fish as food, not as a luxury." Carp was touted as "the working man's fish -- game fish come too high for him."

Expanding the concept

Early in the 20th century, Utah Lake fisherman began to service the high demand for common fish outside the state. The poor people of New York City could not afford fish caught fresh from the Atlantic Ocean, but they had enough money to buy common fish seined from Utah Lake and shipped to the East Coast by rail. In Jan. 1913, the Madsen Brothers alone were using the railroad to ship several carloads of carp, sucker and chub to New York City every week.

Utah County entrepreneurs began smoking and drying "Utah Lake Cod." After the fruit season ended, the Provo Canning Company started canning and selling "Utah Lake Salmon."

Even though the processed food was inexpensive, some residents of Salt Lake City could not afford it. Humanitarians planned another fish giveaway in Feb. 1914. Government agencies, private companies and charitable organizations replaced the LDS Church as distribution agents.

Administrators of the Utah State Fish and Game Department offered to furnish Salt Lake County officials with 20 to 25 tons of common fish for a penny a pound. This money would cover the cost of catching the fish and loading them into boxcars.

County executives worried that they could not handle the distribution of that many fish. They ordered 10 tons -- enough fish to feed two or three thousand poor families for several days.

On Feb. 10, 1914, state fish and game employees caught fish in nets pulled under the ice and delivered them to Geneva Resort, which was adjacent to the railroad tracks. The next day, workmen loaded 25,945 pounds onto railroad cars, and the Denver and Rio Grande Western again hauled them to Salt Lake City free of charge.

People began arriving on distribution day at 6:30 a.m. A crowd of about 1,000 people assembled before men armed with large milk pans began handing out carp, sucker and chub.

Lining up for food

A double row of people a block long waited patiently. David H. Madsen, Utah State Deputy Fish and Game Warden, described the proceeding as a "truly inspiring sight." About 2,000 people eventually received their fish. Neither confusion nor disorder disrupted the process. Motion picture cameras filmed the affair.

As an added benefit to the fish recipients, Hancock and Company distributed 5,000 free oranges.

The free distribution of fish was reenacted with very few changes in Feb. 1915. Several hundred pounds of common fish were also given to the Salt Lake County Infirmary and the youth detention home.

In an effort to help more people, state fish and game officials tried a new program during 1917 and 1918.

The price of meat rose during those years, and its availability declined during World War I as foreign demand for meat increased. Utah County's fish canning industry grew as the result.

Hoping to keep the price of fresh fish down, state workmen caught and sold common fish from Utah Lake for reasonable prices. Local markets and state institutions placed their fish orders with fish and game officials, and state workers delivered the carp, sucker and chub. This state program eventually benefited many hungry people.

Salt Lake City markets sold the fish for the set price of five cents per pound. In Provo, markets offered fish for half that price because of that city's proximity to the lake.

In Feb. 1917, the State Mental Hospital in Provo ordered 400 pounds of common fish per week. The Utah State Prison in Salt Lake City used 75 pounds every seven days.

In the early 20th century, many people considered fish to be a good brain food. Perhaps that is why the State Mental Hospital used so much more fish than the prison.

Market owners in some outlying areas also ordered state fish. The Madsen Brothers of Scofield received a shipment. They offered to distribute the fish without a profit in order to help miners of that district who found it difficult to make ends meet.

Depression relief

The early 1930s found Utahns in the grip of The Great Depression. Generous Utah Lake commercial fishermen offered relief. In early Dec. 1930, Henry A. Loy and George Madsen caught several tons of common fish on the west side of Utah Lake and donated them to the people of Provo. Fishing crews unloaded their catches near the mouth of Provo River. City trucks transported the fish into Provo where the Community Welfare Department distributed them to the needy.

The story was reenacted again in 1December 1931. The needy applied for fish in advance at the fire station. On Dec. 23, just in time for Christmas, two tons of fish were ready for distribution.

Many Utah housewives eagerly purchased inexpensive common fish to feed their hungry families in the 1930s and 40s. Fishmongers went from door to door to hawk Utah Lake hauls.

Lenora Allred, a current resident of Spanish Fork, remembers that some of the fish peddlers barked out attention-catching sales jingles like her favorite, "Fresh fish, still alive! Three rotten out of five!"

William Loy, Sr., a commercial fisherman who now lives in Pleasant Grove remembers when his father, Henry Loy, distributed fish to the peddlers from the family residence located just off Center Street at 87 N. 1100 West. On some days, so many vehicles assembled to pick up fish that traffic control officers arrived to prevent traffic jams on West Center.

During World War II and the years shortly thereafter, the writer remembers a fish peddler visiting Provo's Franklin neighborhood. Water-filled, 10-gallon washtubs loaded with common fish sloshed about in the back of his pickup truck.

As the peddler sold from door to door, fascinated neighborhood children surrounded the rear of his truck, stood on the back bumper and leaned over the tailgate. They fixed their gaze on tubs filled with large scaly creatures that had undulating tails and suction-cup mouths. Many boys ran home hoping to cajole their mothers into buying what would have been a rather cumbersome pet fish. The boys rarely succeeded.

After World War II, the economy heated up and Utah's taste for common fish cooled down. However, when difficult times return, fishermen may once again dip into one of Utah's largest food storage receptacles to provide free or inexpensive common fish for the common man.