Have you ever wondered how the town of Meatball Springs got its name?
Long, long ago on the plains near - Mountain, not far from Canyon, two miners searched in vain for the rumored Mine.
Tired, lost, and hungry, they sat down next to a beautiful spring to make their favorite dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.
They had just unpacked their trusty mule, , and laid out the raw meat when they heard a frightening, low growl and rustling in the bushes.
They turned just in time to see a 10-foot tall standing on its hind legs sniffing the air. In a flash, -the-mule bolted into the woods.
The miners sprinted up
a tree, and all the raw food went
flying into the spring. Disappointed that there would be no dinner, the giant
ran off into the woods.
As the miners peered down from their wobbly perch, they heard rumbling. All of a sudden the spring started frothing and foaming and the air took on the fragrance of . Before they could say "!," 20 fully cooked meatballs shot out of the water. The hungry miners quickly popped them into their mouths. The meatballs were better than anything they had ever tasted!
After returned, they explored the rest of the area. They found that grew from the trees and the rivers flowed with .
They knew they had struck it rich. Immediately they decided to build a
restaurant right on that spot, and they named it
's.
As word spread, people
from to
flocked to the area to taste the fabulous meatballs.
Houses began to spring up and so did businesses to serve the residents and tourists.
And from then to now, Meatball Springs is known far and wide as the place where
"meatballs spring eternal."
By from .
