I was looking at some server logs today and noticed that somebody found this site by searching for “Tooele Jokes” on Google.  It may have been just coincidence that just yesterday I read [1] an article in the Deseret News [deseretnews.com] that wrapped up the article by knocking on Tooele.

I’ve been living in Tooele, Utah for about 10 months and it didn’t take long to realize that I really like it here.  If I’m being honest, I’ll have to admit that I was on the joke-making end of things before I moved here.  I can’t even tell you why I made jokes; maybe because everyone else did?

Now my question is, why?

When I first moved here I used to make excuses (even to people who lived in Tooele!) about the reasons we were moving here.  I feel horrible for it now, because there is absolutely no reason to be embarrassed about living in this wonderful city.  The commute is only 35 minutes away from Salt Lake City, it still has a small town feel (although that seems to be changing quickly as more and more people decide to make Tooele their home), and the house prices aren’t ridiculous (although that’s also changing…but comparatively we will always have cheaper house prices than the Salt Lake valley).

I’m a big believer in the adage “if you can’t make fun of yourself…” and so I can take a joke or two about Tooele and I can even tell a joke or two about Tooele, but what’s the draw?  I don’t even really know myself and I used to be one of the joke-makers.  It has to be more than just the interesting spelling/pronunciation, right?  Throw in a chemical spill joke, an inbred or hick joke, a small-town joke, BFE jokes, and what else is there?  Oh yeah, the bad grammar.

A colleague at work could tell us a few.  He seems to rip on Tooele non-stop and he’s not ashamed to do so.   Perhaps he can share a few with us?  In fact, if you know a good Tooele joke, post a comment.  Let’s get a good collection going so that when people find this blog by searching for “Tooele Jokes,” they won’t be disappointed.

I’ll start.

When I first came to Tooele I noticed myself doing things that I would never have done when I lived in South Jordan; things that made me realize “I had arrived”- this was my new home.  For example, I started cutting across parking lots, wearing dirty clothes to Walmart and hanging out there, and I think I even spit out my window once.  Oh yeah, and I let my son run around in only his diaper, all the time!

Obviously for all of us who live here in Tooele, none of these things are true and these generalisms do not accurately describe the population of Tooele.  Not so obviously for the people who don’t live in Tooele and have never even driven through Tooele, the jokes about Tooele are NOT TRUE!  Maybe the chemical jokes will come to an end soon enough as the [2] Deseret Chemical Depot closes down in a few short years; the chemical agent is close to being completely destroyed.

Whatever your reason is for poking fun at Tooele, I’d like to hear it.  I really don’t care that anyone makes it the butt of their jokes, I’m just curious as to why?  Who instilled in you that Tooele is something to be made fun of and someplace you wouldn’t want to live?

If you’ve moved here from Salt Lake Valley or someplace else, what is your take on Tooele?  Have you overcome your stereotypes?  Are you starting to question (like I am) why you ever made fun in the first place?

So post your opinions, comments and questions…and jokes!