Running a farm is hard enough, but rapid city growth makes it even tougher. More than a decade ago, the late Verl Cook faced a series of staggering hurdles that threatened to wipe out his family’s livelihood.

First, the city decided to treat the Cook’s greenhouse — the most profitable part of the farm — like a big-box retail store. They demanded the family build a paved parking lot, a project that would cost $200,000.

A rumor began circulating that the beloved rose garden in Sugar House Park was about to be ripped out. The person telling the story was upset, even angry that yet another beautiful feature of the park was supposedly on the chopping block. From there, the rumor traveled the way neighborhood gossip always does. It bounced between coffee shops, dog walkers circling the park’s paved path, and conversations on sidewalks throughout the Sugarhouse neighborhood.

There was just one small problem:

Salt Lake City is dreaming big: new arenas, convention space and a billion-dollar downtown transformation. A few miles away, seniors are saving leftovers for tomorrow’s dinner and wondering how much longer they can afford their homes. What do those two realities say about our priorities?

“My grandfather, Jesse Lawrence Smith, had a grade school education, and during the depression, he shipped fruit to Chicago and Texas,” Scott Smith, current owner of Smith Orchard, said. “He would get paid by the semi load, $3.30 a bushel. That is how he was able to buy more land during that time. That is how long we have been here.”