No, we don’t pen stories about every person who comes along to offer a helping hand on one of the many volunteer committees Taylorsville City sponsors. But near 40-year Taylorsville resident Robert Rampton’s story is just unusual enough to justify it.

• Rampton attended that famous Rolling Stones concert at Lagoon in the late 1960s, for free. “Both my uncles were bouncers there. I saw the Stones, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Beach Boys, Herman’s Hermits – all for free.”
• He authored a book and is well into his second, both about pre-World War I automobile races. “I’m glad I didn’t publish that first one, because I’ve had to correct a couple of mistakes. But it’s good to go now.”
• Rampton deployed his computer digital artistry skills to design the official Dugway Proving Ground logo, during his 22-year career working there. “From Taylorsville, you drive 50 miles west, then 50 miles south, to get there. It’s 90 minutes each way. That got to be a long commute.”
• Oh, and yes, he IS related to 1965 to 1977 Utah Governor Cal Rampton. “Here in Utah, I believe all of us Ramptons are related, somehow.”  

With his well-rounded background in various artistic endeavors, Rampton says it was a no-brainer when he got just bored enough earlier this year to venture onto the Taylorsville City website to see if they had any challenges for him.

Robert Rampton has entered works like this into the Taylorsville Art Show three different times. Now he’s volunteering for the group that organizes the popular annual event. (Photo courtesy Robert Rampton)

“I retired in April, but quickly found it to be too slow; I wanted to find something,” Rampton explained. “As I looked through applications online for the many Taylorsville City volunteer committees, the Arts Council seemed like the best fit. I try to think of myself as a functioning artist. I just want to contribute and it sounded like fun.”

So, without knowing a soul on the Taylorsville Arts Council – or, really, what the group did aside from their annual art show – Rampton submitted his online volunteer application. And Taylorsville Arts Council Chairwoman Susan Holman has never been one to pass on free assistance.

“I was called by the city after Robert submitted his application and it looked great,” Holman said. “I called him – and just a couple of days later, I sat with him at the city council meeting where he was unanimously approved as our newest Taylorsville Arts Council volunteer. We are always looking for new council members and can use as many qualified people as we can get. Robert will be a great addition.”

Mayor Kristie Overson wishes more people would take the kind of initiative Rampton did to reach out with a helping hand.

“Our volunteer committees are always looking for more assistance,” the mayor said. “Our Taylorsville City website is so easy to navigate for people to find descriptions of our different committees and volunteer application forms. If someone is good at math or has financial savvy, our budget committee could use them. There are several committees to suit about any interest. Our only requirements are that volunteers are at least age 18 and Taylorsville residents.” 

Rampton spent his elementary school years growing up in Bountiful. But a family move took him cross country to Pennsylvania for grades 7 to 12. He graduated high school back east in 1970.

Digital artist Robert Rampton taught himself all the tricks necessary to create works like this on the computer. (Photo courtesy Robert Rampton)

On summer breaks from high school, Rampton returned to Utah to stay with his grandparents – and to work a job he didn’t particularly love.

“In the summers of 1967, 68 and 69 I was a Lagoon ride operator,” he lamented. “All three summers, the only rides I ever ran were in Mother Goose Land. One summer, the only ride I operated was ‘Bulgy the Whale’ (in which preschoolers go round and round, rapidly rising and dropping). Literally, every day I was cleaning up after a kid lost their lunch. But hey, that job also helped me get into those free concerts. It was an OK tradeoff.”Moving back out to Utah after high school, Rampton studied art at BYU for a couple of years before deciding to drop out to take a product illustration job with JC Penney at University Mall in Orem.

“That’s how my graphic design career began – with pen and paper,” Rampton said. “That’s all that was being taught back then. I pretty much completely taught myself how to do everything I do now – digital art.”

Robert and wife Moira married in October 1984, with a 41st wedding anniversary coming next month. She had two children from a previous marriage and the pair added a third.

“All three of our kids attended Eisenhower Junior High and Taylorsville High,” Rampton said. “We found the Taylorsville home we still live in back in 1988. Now we’ve been empty nesters quite a while.”

After kicking around a couple of different jobs, Rampton began what turned out to be his longest-tenured career position at Dugway Proving Ground in 2002.

Vintage automobiles, many dating back before World War I, are Taylorsville resident Robert Rampton’s biggest artistic passion. (Photo courtesy Robert Rampton)

Established in 1942, just months after the attack on Pearl Harbor ushered the United States into World War II, Dugway Proving Ground is a U.S. Army facility used primarily for chemical and biological defense testing.

“I liked the work I did at Dugway,” Rampton added. “I got involved with their public affairs department. I wrote content for the on-site newspaper. I also became a digital illustrator and designed the official logo many years ago that they still use today.”

Following his lengthy Dugway career, Rampton worked another couple of years for the federal Bureau of Reclamation. He left that agency five months ago.

As for Rampton’s artistic background, the one book he’s completed and the other he’s still working on are historic works, focused on early twentieth century auto races.

“My first book, ‘Teddy at the Throttle,’ is about the Salduro Speed Trial races of 1914,” he explained. “Those were the first races in the area that has since become known as the Bonneville Salt Flats, near Wendover. I finished the book in 2011 – but luckily, I didn’t publish it then. I’ve since had to correct a couple of details in the book. My second book, not yet completed, is about a 1908 automobile race from New York to Paris. The drivers went west out of New York and the route passed through northern Utah. The race ran 169 days.”

Robert Rampton’s now deceased family dog, ‘Warhol,’ inspired this piece, called “Warhol as a Warhol.” (Photo courtesy Robert Rampton)

According to Wikipedia, that 1908 race remains, to this day, the longest motorsport event ever held. There’s much more information about both these century-old races, online.

As for Rampton’s digital artistry, he’s entered three different pieces into three Taylorsville Art Shows over the years.

“I won a ribbon or two here and there,” he added.

“We want Robert to help us as much as he wants with the next Taylorsville Art Show,” Holman said. “He’ll be a great asset.”

“I’m excited to assist the Arts Council and I also have a few personal things I want to complete (like that second book),” Rampton concluded. “When I am gone, I don’t want my kids finding a bunch of unfinished projects of mine. I’m ready to get them done.”

And the Taylorsville Arts Council is more than ready to fill some of Rampton’s “too slow” retirement time.