How “Sweet Clover Canyon” Got Its Name

It began with a particularly vivid childhood memory of a purple, white and green flower we always called sweet clover. Growing up I spent a lot of time “out in the country” at my friend Julie’s farm. I lived in town. Our families met at church. In my young mind her world was vastly different than mine.

On the farm we put on big boots to go out and do chores. We called the pigs to eat by calling “sooey” and used a special series of whistles, one long and four short, to call in the horses to the horse barn, we fished and swam in the lake, ate peas right out of the pods fresh from the garden, tried to catch a glimpse of the barn cats & picked cherries from the cherry tree for pies. Instead of being afraid of thunder we prayed with gratitude for the rain and the crops. The days were filled with things needing done and farm hands eating plentiful homemade meals around their large family table.

Often we’d saddle up two ponies and ride. I remember the smell of the leather saddles and softness of their noses. Sometimes we’d visit Mrs. Edwards who lived down the lane a bit, she somehow always managed to have warm applesauce cookies on hand. Other times we’d pack a lunch and just wonder around the countryside. It was a sense of freedom and adventure I didn’t have in town. Julie told me the horses, Smokey and Sparky, loved sweet clovers. We’d pick a handful of the little treats and feed it to them. She showed me that if I grabbed the purple tips and pulled, I could chew on the sweet tender white part. Lots of memories are wrapped around that little flower.

I had decided on “Sweet Clover” as part of the name but it seemed to be missing something. I began to think how I could link the name to my current life. Flagstaff, Arizona is a mountain town located at just about 7,000 feet. So I began writing down things like “Sweet Clover Ridge” and “Sweet Clover Mountain”. But they just weren’t right. As I was working on this my husband walked by. I shared with him my dilemma and he simply said, “Arizona is known for that really big hole we have in the ground, the Grand Canyon. What about “Sweet Clover Canyon”? That was it! Not only did it bridge my past and my present, I also thought it sounded like a fine place to design quilt patterns from.