Cascading, red rock faces enclose the towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., which the people there collectively refer to as Short Creek.
They call themselves “crikers.”
Over the last decade, Short Creek has garnered nationwide attention for a robust polygamist history under the influence and control of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and more specifically, the church’s cult-like prophet and child sex offender, Warren Jeffs.
The small town of a few thousand people is now attracting new attention for a different reason: they are experiencing the second-largest measles outbreak in the country.
Jeffs’ former home is surrounded by towering, clean-cut brick walls. Behind them is now the Short Creek Dream Center, an organization that transformed the property into a place for people escaping domestic violence, recovering from substance abuse, overcoming homelessness and healing from trauma. The center also helps the broader Short Creek community through their food bank and community outreach programs.
Luke Merideth is a Short Creek transplant from Phoenix who co-runs the center with his wife, Konstance. He is also a wrestling coach, pastor, former military medic and a Hildale City Council member.
Merideth has seen firsthand how the measles has affected his community.
“I do know that there were just whole families that were down for a week or two, staying at home, feeling miserable, recovering.”
Measles is a viral infection that easily spreads through the air and on common surfaces. While most people recover from the infection in about 10 days, it can be fatal for people with compromised immune systems, children under 5 and pregnant women.
An infection first presents as a blotchy, red rash appearing on the face and then spreading to the rest of the body. Other symptoms include a high fever, dry cough, runny nose and red, watering eyes.
Mohave County reported a total of 133 measles cases, resulting in three hospitalizations, on the Utah-Arizona border this year.
On Nov. 6, Coconino County reported a possible measles exposure at a Flagstaff mall. And on Nov. 16, Maricopa County reported two exposures — at a Hilton Hotel and a concert at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
Currently, Texas has the largest number of infections with a total of 803 cases as of Nov. 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Short Creek vaccination rates
Outbreaks are most common among unvaccinated populations.
The FLDS church has been known to reject vaccinations. This idea permeates through Short Creek’s history and is now influencing the current spread of the measles.
“The culture of distrust in the government probably contributed to what would have been more of a spike here than even another small rural town,” Merideth said.
While the community in Short Creek has become increasingly composed of ex-FLDS and non-members, the vaccination rates are still not enough to prevent measles.
Rebecca Bradshaw is a mother to 16 children and grandmother to 112 grandchildren. While she is not a member of the FLDS, her parents sent her to live in a polygamist community for a period of time as a child, where she grew to love large families, inspiring her to have one of her own. =
Bradshaw sat at a picnic table at Cottonwood Park in Short Creek. Cold wind intermittently brushed through the multicolored trees overhead, shaking dead leaves loose, raining down around Brashsaw while she talked about her family, measles and vaccinations. Two of her granddaughters were with her at the nearby playground, laughing and chasing each other.
Bradshaw repeatedly told them not to leave her eyesight. She was caring for them while one of her daughters was at the hospital for concerns over her pregnancy.
Bradshaw has family and knows people in Short Creek who had or have measles. She said that while it took a toll on families, most of them recovered.
“It usually lasted for about five days,” she said. “They were extremely miserable, but they kept their fever under control, and a lot of people now are getting Epsom salt baths, soda baths and stuff to help. The itching was the worst part of it. And the older they were, the worse it got.”
Although Bradshaw and her children are vaccinated, about half of her grandchildren are not, as their parents fear the vaccines might cause adverse effects or other long-term conditions.
“They don't trust the government,” she said. “They don't trust the immunizations. I've got one family member that says their kid got autism from the shots.”
After the pandemic, skepticism around the vaccines grew, according to Merideth. He attributed low vaccination rates in the community to resistance against COVID-19 vaccinations.
“I do think largely that COVID and all the drama around the vaccine caused, nationwide, even more distrust,” he said.
Brody Olson is the pastor of the Community of Grace Church in Colorado City, where Bradshaw attends. He believes the former FLDS influence might be a reason for low vaccination rates in the community.
“You have more people here per capita that would not be vaccinated, and that was probably a position of their early church [the FLDS].”
Olson said measles has affected church attendance, and they almost had to close their doors on one occasion.
“We'd heard of a kid that had measles and was at our youth center, and so we nearly shut the place down just in case. But it really never elevated to that status that we needed to do that,” Olson said.
Recovering from measles
Home remedies and holistic healing are relevant to Short Creek’s history and important to its community. Bradshaw explained that most families in Short Creek will pursue at-home treatments over going to the hospital, one of the motivating factors being the community’s large number of big families.
“The bigger the family, the more expense. So if you can handle it at home and you have 10 kids with the measles, and you take them all to the doctor, your medical bill is going to be very expensive.”
With families relying on home remedies, Bradshaw said she thinks the actual number of measles cases in Short Creek is more than what has been reported.
“I have had family members with the measles and never went to the hospital,” she said. “I think the actual numbers are probably three times what has been reported.”
While the community grapples with rising cases, most residents believe in the town’s persistence and adaptability.
Vaccines are available at the local clinics in both Colorado City and Hildale. Officials in the community are encouraging people to get vaccinated or seek medical attention if they need it.
“We're about having growth. That is reasonable. And protecting our families. I mean, that's why we're here. … We wanna move forward,” said Colorado City Mayor Howard Ream.
Bradshaw is hopeful her community will continue to grow and recover from both its negative religious past and, now, measles.
“I came down here and it felt like an industrial community, 8 feet walls and nobody looked at anybody. Nobody can talk to anyone. And it was a very uneasy feeling,” Bradshaw said. “And now the walls are coming down. People are getting back to reality and socializing. And it's been fun to see the progress.”
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons License.