John C. Green Jr.

Jack Green loved three things: politics, music, and Park City. He came as a small boy and gave the town sixty years — twenty-seven of them as its postmaster, following his father, and most of the rest in elected office, from the school board he joined in 1950 to the city council and, in 1978, the mayor's chair. He held it eight years, through the hardest stretch of Park City's remaking from a dying mine town into a destination ski resort. He was, by his own cheerful admission, a poor volunteer fireman.

What the plaque says

Jack Green was a lover of life-politics, music, and above all, Park City itself. He moved to Park City as a small boy, and for the next 60 years dedicated his life to the life of this community. Following in his father's footsteps, he served as Park City's Postmaster for 27 years. He began life as an elected official in 1950 when he was first elected to the Park City School Board. There Jack served for countless terms of office until he was elected to the City Council in 1976 and then he served on both the School Board and the City Council. He became the Mayor in 1978 and served for the next eight years, the most critical years of Park City's transition from mining town to destination ski resort. Jack also was a volunteer fireman, though he was the first to admit, not a very good etc. Neither land use planning nor sewers were in his area of expertise or interest, but he also served for many years on the Planning Commission and the Snyderville Basin Sewer District, because there was work that needed to be done. A life-long Democrat, Jack was a leader among leaders in local politics within the State of Utah. The consummate lobbyist, he made Park City (as he was fond of saying a community of only 2,900) a power to be reckoned with at the State Legislature. In his spare time, Jack also served on the League of Cities and Towns Board of Directors and the Mountainlands Council of Governments. Above all, he was the kind of citizen who makes a difference. The amazing thing about Jack was not that be did all of this, but that he did it with such grace and humor. His Irish wit saved many a dull or controversial Council meeting from falling into the depths where all elected officials tend to sink, unless they are ever vigilant-taking themselves too seriously. The times were not easy, for he saw a vision of what Park City could become while the rest of us were still cursing the snow instead of praying for it. The change caused a rift in the community between what was then called "Old Town" and "New Town." Where many were suspicious of how the change would affect them and Park City, Jack welcomed it with open arms, and as a consequence he was not popular with everyone. In retrospect, few would want to go back, although many including Jack, would have moved it all at a slower pace. In his own words he put it this way: "In the 50's things were pretty tough around Park City. The mines had closed and so had many of the businesses. Most of the young people were leaving too, but a few of us stayed-mostly because we were too stubborn to leave a place that we loved so much. In this time of trouble, I turned my eyes to the heavens and said ‘please God help us’. Recognizing Marker next to the right pillar.that God helps those who help themselves, I became a part of the first effort to obtain a federal grant for economically distressed cities, and by the early 60's, the Park City Ski Area had opened. By the 70's we were a boom town growing at a pace I never believed possible. So now in looking back at God's generosity when I turn my eyes to the heavens I say 'please God, let's not be ridiculous'."

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Park City Mountain — 0.3 mi
  The largest ski resort in the United States, grown straight out of a 19th-century silver town.
• Park City — 0.6 mi
  Silver built it. Snow saved it.
• Park City Main Street — 0.6 mi
  A historic mining town turned world-class ski and film festival destination
• Deer Valley — 2.2 mi
  A ski-only luxury resort above Park City, now in the middle of the largest expansion in U.S. ski history.

More markers nearby

• Park City Miners Hospital — steps away
• Utah Coal & Lumber — 0.6 mi
• Park City Pioneers — 0.6 mi
• Rodney W. Schreurs Centennial Park — 0.6 mi