"Canyon" Is The Man

"Canyon" Is The Man


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Samantha Hayes Reporting A Utah couple was having trouble picking a name for their baby, at least until the blessed event happened in a place they never expected. Now their son has a name and quite a story to tell about how he came into the world.

Jack or Jim just wouldn't do for this little boy. Every fall when the leaves change color and that rustling sound is in the air Helen and James Crowther will tell this story.

James and Helen Crowther: “We were just driving in the car up the mountain.. (it was a bumpy road)..down toward Hobble Creek side and that's when her water broke. And that's when dad started driving fast."

It’s the story of how their son was born, not in a comfortable hospital or even at home in familiar surroundings, but on a bumpy canyon road.

Helen Crowther: “I just breathed through my contractions and he kept going as fast as he could, and I kept going 'how much longer are we to get off the mountain?' And he kept telling me ‘We're almost off, we're almost off.' And then it was like 10 minutes and I told him he had to pull over and deliver the baby."

James Crowther: “The baby was already peaking, you could see his head. And so I told my wife to push. She pushed once and he was out to his shoulders and she pushed again and he was out to his waist, and I just pulled him the rest of the way out."

Like most mothers Helen was going on her first experience. Baby one took hours to deliver. So despite having a few contractions earlier in the day, they decided it would be the perfect time to take a drive in the mountains.

Helen Crowther: “We just wanted to go up and enjoy Fall leaves.”

As for the baby's name, there were a couple options.

James Crowther: “This is where it happened (in a Tacoma). My wife was sitting right here.”

"Tacoma" was one idea...

James Crowther: “That’s what everyone at work wanted to call it.”

… or "Hobble Creek" since that's where it all happened. Then it was clear, this little mountain man could only be called...

Helen Crowther: “I just mentioned the name ‘Canyon’ cause he was born up a canyon, and my husband was like, ‘yeah, that’s good.’”

Helen admits maybe she should have known better because her own mother gave birth to twins, one on the freeway, the other in the parking lot of the hospital.

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