We all live downstream of history and upstream of the future.
Spring 2005
| In This Issue - Learning Nonviolence | Features | News | |
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The Split Gandhi, Peacemaking and Kids
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Discovering Past Lives Researching the History of Your House (Part 3) by Cory Jensen, Historic Preservation Office In the previous two issues of Currents we discussed how to find the previous owners, construction date, and historic photos of your house.Now it's time to....more The Hot Rock Cafe Powell's Brain On the Road Where's that at? Bookmarks by Curt Bench
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Celebrate Utah's Prehistory May 7-15, 2005 USHS Annual Meeting New History Research Center more
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The Split
Did you every have to make up your mind?
This is a story of violence and of nonviolence. It is the story of a Pahvant Ute named Moshoquop. In 1853 Moshoquop killed innocent people out of revenge.
Yet later he put his life on the line to protect innocent people from revenge. In one man we see the conflicting impulses--violence and peace--that so often co-exist in human hearts..
Apparently, in 1853 a group of immigrants passing through central Utah callously killed Moshoquop's father. Moshoquop swore revenge. He got it when Lt. John W. Gunnison and a group of government surveyors camped on the lower Sevier River. Leading a group of Pahvants, Moshoquop attacked and killed most of the party--simply because they, like his father's killer, were white.
In 1871, 18 years after the Gunnison Massacre, Josiah F. Gibbs and his father rode up into the Pahvant Range. They were thinking about building a sawmill, and they wanted to assess the mountains' timber. At the summit, they came upon a grazing band of Indian ponies. Josiah, remembering the violence of the recent Black Hawk War, suggested a quick retreat. His father
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said no; the Pahvant Utes were friends. Josiah later wrote:
On arriving at the summit of the divide, we were greeted with shouts of welcome from a small band of Pahvants who, accompanied by [women and children], were on a hunting expedition. They were camped near a large spring, a hundred fifty yards or so down the hillside. Beyond, and about the same distance to the northeast, was another and larger encampment. Two incongruous details attracted my attention--if [this second camp] were Pahvants, why did they camp apart, and where were the women and children of the second band?We rode down to the nearest camp and received hearty welcomes from Moshoquop and his companions.
With genuine hospitality Moshoquop requested a couple of young hunters to relieve our tired horses of their equipment and picket [tether] them nearby. Father suggested hobbling, but for reasons then unknown, Moshoquop insisted on picketing, then turned to his wife: "Ruth, Gibb and boy hungry, cook deer meat...."
Moshoquop assisted in carrying our blankets, saddles and rifles to the south side of a huge log, assisted in spreading the blankets--head to north against the log, then remarked, "Tie sareech (dog) here," indicating an upright limb at the head of the bed. "Mebbeso steal deer meat," was the reason given by the war-chief. (...."Tie sareech here," was a mere detail of Moshoquop's unrevealed program.) He then advised against removing our clothing, "Morning heap cold," he said, and returned to his wickiup, a hundred feet or so distant.
Father was well along in life, not accustomed to horseback riding, [and] was soon soundly sleeping.
Josiah had a vague feeling that Moshoquop had made sure they had the dog, guns, and horses nearby because he was getting them ready for a fight or flight. Josiah also realized that Moshoquop had not said a word about who was in the other camp.
It was well along towards morning, when it is "darkest just before day," that I was awakened by Moshoquop's stentorian voice. Standing by the small campfire, the fitful flames of which added a singular weirdness to the scene and hour, Moshoquop, his body erect as the pines of his native forest, was facing the camp of the stranger Indians, but seemingly addressing his remarks to the night-enveloped wilderness....Out into the darkness of that memorable night his words rolled and vibrated....
Moshoquop described the condition of his people prior to the advent of the pioneers. He told of the suffering and death of his tribesmen during the long and severe winters when the snow lay deep on the ground, and driven by the fierce winds how it drifted into their wickiups, putting out their small fires, covering their scant bedding, and often burying the aged, sick and infirm; how their supplies of food, stored for winter use, were often exhausted weeks in advance of the melting snow.
The war-chief then spoke of the coming of the white settlers "with hearts like squaws";... how, from their also scanty supplies, they divided their food and clothing with [the Utes]; that when their papooses were sick, the white mothers gave them milk, and nursed them back to life.... Moshoquop's closing words yet ring in my ears:
"And before we will permit harm to our white brothers, the Pahvants will die."
A year after the events just narrated, [Nimrod, a Pahvant who was present] told me that the strange Indians were trespassers from Wayne county--a fragment of Black Hawk's band...; that after father and I had retired, they proposed that Moshoquop permit our assassination, and the appropriation of our horses, guns and other equipment.
The Black Hawk renegades outnumbered Moshoquop's warriors at least two to one, therefore the careful preparations for our escape in the event of trouble. And in his silence thereafter concerning his intervention for our safety, we find in Moshoquop a delicacy of feeling in shielding us from any sense of obligation to him that is rare....
We have in these stories three examples of one group killing or wanting to kill members of another group--people they didn't know. To the emigrant, Moshoquop's father was just another Indian. Likewise, Moshoquop figured that since a white person had killed his father other white people deserved to die. And the Black Hawk group had no qualms about killing a couple of those oppressive whites.
But with friends it was different. Moshoquop knew the Gibbses as real people, so he protected them. By doing that, he prevented more violence and revenge.
This brings up a couple of questions. What if the killers in these stories had recognized the real people behind the skin color? And does this story from the 19th century have any relevance in the 21st?
Kristen Rogers, editor
From "Moshoquop, the Avenger, as Loyal Friend," by Josiah F. Gibbs, in Utah Historical Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 1 (1929)
Gandhi, Peacemaking and Kids
Learning nonviolence through history
by Nancy Hedrick
Ricardo (not his real name) came bouncing into the room on the first day of school with his hand waving, asking to be called on. "Can we study some more about that nonviolence stuff and that cool little bald guy?" After a moment's hesitation, the teacher realized that the "bald guy" was Gandhi. During summer school, his class had participated in a series of lessons called "Gandhi and the Making of Peacemakers." Clearly, at least one student had found the lessons interesting and important.
In 2000 the Salt Lake Gandhi Alliance for Peace and its president, Deb Sawyer, saw the need to teach students the principles of nonviolence on a global, local, and personal level. She contacted Nancy Hedrick, a geography and history teacher at East High School, and Rosalind Beckstead, a geography teacher at Fairview Junior High. Working together, the women developed a group of lessons based upon the PBS documentary series A Force More Powerful and William Ury's book The Third Side. Once the Utah State Office of Education approved the lessons, the Alliance offered workshops to teachers from around the state. To date, some 90 teachers, representing 23 of Utah's 40 school districts, have attended workshops in Salt Lake City, Brigham City, Heber, Moab, and Cedar City.
What is it that makes these lessons so engaging that a student would ask for more? The lessons are interactive and collaborative, and they educational goals of reading and writing across the curriculum. The lesson about the Nashville Civil Rights Movement helps students to learn about the roles of reporters, producers, and editors as they create and present their own newscast about the sit-ins. Students learn to draw inferences, categorize information, and use symbolic language as they explore the roles described in The Third Side. They explore their own values and attitudes about problem-solving, comparing them with the philosophies and actions of Gandhi.
As one workshop participant put it, "We spend a lot of time in social studies classes teaching about wars, but we seldom teach about the alternatives." The course is driven not by a political agenda but by the belief that there are ways of bringing about change without resorting to violence, that there are ways to resolve personal conflicts peaceably, and that young people can learn these strategies to improve their lives and their future.
Teachers have been overwhelmingly positive in their responses to the workshops and the guest speakers. Rohit Patel, a member of the Gandhi Alliance and a local businessman, has been a consistent contributor to the workshops. His father lived on the ashram with Gandhi in India and worked all his life to spread the ideas of truth and nonviolence. Patel's interesting teaching style and his understanding of Gandhi's ideas have been a hit with the teachers. Workshop participants have also been thrilled to meet and hear from Khando Chatsatsung, niece of the Dalai Lama. Chatsatsung shares stories about her life and that of her famous uncle and talks about his philosophies of peace and nonviolence. Other participants have been Rev. France Davis, sharing his experiences working in the Civil Rights Movement; Shuaib-ud Din, Imam of the Khadijah Mosque, who talks about the peaceful side of Islam--a side seldom reported in the press today; Rev. Jim Teale, who has worked for years to bring about peace in the Balkans, Palestine, and Northern Ireland; and Emma Lou Thayne, a noted Utah poet who presents her philosophies of how to find peace in one's own life.
As teachers throughout the state begin to incorporate these lessons into their own curricula, the Gandhi Alliance hopes that more students will find the excitement that Ricardo expressed. That they will find better ways to solve their own problems. That they will see alternatives to violence all around them. And that they will be able to apply the lessons taught by "that cool little bald guy."
Nancy Heddrick is an award-winning math/history/geography teacher. She developed curriculum and teaches workshops for the Gandhi Alliance. For more information, write nanoo@xmission.com with GANDHI in the subject line.
Researching the History of Your House, Part 3
DISCOVERING PAST LIVES
by Cory Jensen, Historic Preservation Office
In the previous two issues of Currents we discussed how to find the previous owners, construction date, and historic photos of your house. (Fall 2004 Winter 2004) Now it's time to research people's lives. Almost always, the history of a home is directly related to the history of its occupants. However, the history of public, commercial, religious, and industrial buildings may be more tied to their role in the community's history.
Start with the title search
A title search gives you the ownership history of a building. (See the Fall 2004 Currents.) Usually, the owner and occupant are one and the same, but not always. Many houses, particularly in certain neighborhoods (Salt Lake City's Avenues, for instance), have been used as rentals. To see who actually lived in your house, try checking old city directories.
Then look at directories
Early directories can reveal who actually lived in a building. They also give occupations! If city directories are available for your city, look to see if the owner occupied the house. If not, check several successive years to determine if the house was a rental. If occupants changed often during one person's ownership, it was probably a rental. Of course, there could be other reasons why the occupant was not also the owner.
Also, try to determine whether the house changed from owner-occupant status to a rental or vice versa. Often, larger urban residences were divided into apartments during and after the Great Depression.
The very helpful Polk City Directories are available at the Utah History Research Center in the Rio Grande Depot.
Count on the census
The census schedule is another important research tool. Every ten years the United States conducts a census. The data provide basic information for each household: the name of each household member, birthplace, birth and marriage dates, occupation, and so forth. With the census data, you can learn not only about a particular building but also about the demographics of a neighborhood or community.
Unfortunately, censuses before 1900 don't give addresses, so you have to do some guesswork. Also, a fire destroyed the records of the 1890 census, so those data aren't available. In order to protect privacy, census information is only released to the public 70 years after the actual date of the census, which means that the most recent one available is the 1930 census. The Utah History Research Center has the census schedules on microfilm.
Short and sweet--the obits
An obituary may be the only existing biography of an individual, but it can provide good basic information, such as birth and death dates, place of birth, occupation, religious and civic affiliations, and so forth. Some obituaries are fairly basic, but others may have lots of details.
To find out if an obituary is available, consult the Obituary Index, on microfilm at the Research Center. These indexes cover obituaries in the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News from 1850 to 1970. The Salt Lake Tribune also has a separate index that covers 1940 to the present. You can also check local newspaper archives on the internet
( www.lib.utah.edu/digital/unews/ ) for obituaries that might not show up in the Salt Lake City newspapers, or for those that are later than 1970.
Lives of the famous
For information on prominent citizens (usually male) of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Research Center has several biographical guides. The most common are Pioneers and Prominent Men, Utah's Distinguished Personalities, Andrew Jenson's Biographical Encyclopedia, and Utah, the Storied Domain. To make the search easier, the Research Center also has an index to these publications, the two-volume Mormons and Their Neighbors, which gives the book and page on which a person's name appears.
And finally?
Genealogical resources such as family histories can be very useful if available. However, these may be difficult to locate. Davis Bitton's Guide to Mormon Diaries and Autobiographies can help you find resources held in library collections. You can find general genealogical detail for individuals on the internet at sites such as www.familysearch.org or http://ancestry.com.
So--go to it!
With some creativity, you may find other sources of information, but these ideas should give you a start. The Utah Historic Preservation Office would be happy to add your research and documentation to their files, so don't hesitate to offer your information! Also, before you begin researching it is always a good idea to check with us first to see what information we already have. Call 801/533-3500.
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Utah's prehistoric people often cooked with hot rocks. They left behind their used rocks. Kristen Jensen and her colleagues tested the cooking method to learn what the rock artifacts might reveal about ancient people. Here, she whips up a big batch of boiling water using rocks that have been heating in the fire for more than an hour. |
She's not exactly Julia Childs. But our own Kristen Jensen, now the archaeological records manager for the Division of State History, is one of the world's leading experts on cooking with rocks. Or on the rocks themselves, anyway. Currents talked with her about her research.
What got you into rocks?
When I was getting my archaeology degree at Utah State, our field school was at Dugway (Utah). We were surveying Salt Flats, and the most common artifacts there are the fire-altered or fire-cracked rocks. We'd find them scattered around on the dunes.
What are fire-altered rocks?
They were used for cooking--in fact, people have used rocks this way for millennia. They would heat the rocks red-hot, then drop them into water to make it boil. Or they might use rocks for firepit cooking. You can tell you're looking at fire-cracked rocks if 1) there are no other rocks around--showing that people transported the rocks there, and 2) they are broken in a very angular way.
Anyway, one night around the campfire, we students started to talk about how the rocks would crack and split each time they were heated. You could probably only use them for so long, then they would get too small to cook with. We decided the rocks probably broke up at a fairly predictable rate.
If so, you could measure the rate of breakup. Then perhaps you could look at the quantity and size of rocks at a site. Those rocks could tell you how intensively the site was used--either through a long stay or through many visits over time.
How did you measure rocks breaking up?
We got 10 batches of rocks, five pounds each, and we boiled water 10 times with each batch. After each boiling, we counted the rocks and weighed them. We calculated an average, and fairly consistent, rate of break-up.
What did you learn?
Well, we learned there is an optimal size for cooking. If a rock is much bigger than a fist, it will heat up too slowly. If it gets to be smaller than a cubic inch, it will lose heat too quickly.
We also learned that people probably carefully selected the rocks they used. Some rocks will shatter as they're heated. It can be kind of dangerous. A few times, people got hit in the butt by exploding a piece of rock.
We also learned that for efficient cooking you don't add all the rocks at once. Get your pot boiling with a couple of rocks, then add new rocks from the fire as needed. Five pounds of rock will boil two gallons for about 10 minutes--at least in our bucket. Prehistoric people would have used pitch-sealed baskets or pottery.
So--What did they cook?
They would make mush out of grass seeds. Or they would boil bones to extract grease and marrow. They could also toss seeds with hot rocks to parch the seeds.
It's pretty grueling work, though. I don't live in their time, so I don't really know, but I wouldn't cook every meal this way. It's a huge pain in the rear. We spent hundreds of hours boiling with rocks!
Did you have any unusual experiences?
We did teach a stone boiling workshop to members of the Utah Statewide Archaeological Society. We tried to use natural seasonings in the stew we made. Actually, it didn't taste very good. It cooked, though!
After we had graduated and scattered to different jobs, we still had four batches of rocks to test. I ended up doing it alone. Foolishly, I chose to do it in Dugway in July. I kept running out of wood for the fire (finding wood is a large part of the work--you have to keep a strong hot fire going for 1 1/2 hours.). So I'd go off to get more firewood. When I came back I'd have to stomp out little fires that were spreading out into the cheatgrass. I worried I might burn down the mountain.
Did you find out what you wanted to know?
It was a typical scientific experiment--we ended up with more questions than answers. But it was interesting. We got information out of an artifact that until now was been rather bland. We learned the best conditions for cooking with rocks, and we learned that rocks break down at a predictable rate. But there are so many more variables! More testing and experimenting would help us know a lot more about these artifacts.
CELEBRATE UTAH'S PREHISTORY
MAY 7-15, 2005
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Archaeologist Dennis Weder demonstrates pottery-making at the 2004 Prehistory Week Open House |
Dominguez and Escalante came in 1776. Brigham Young and Co. came in 1847. But what happened before that? Actually, the first humans migrated to the Utah area around 11,000 yars ago. These first "Utahns" hunted the mammoths, giant sloths, camels, and other prehistoric animals that lived in the region then. After that came centuries of human migration, occupation, and survival in Utah.
During Utah Prehistory Week, you can learn about Utah's long-ago past and have fun doing it. Events, lectures, demonstrations, and tours statewide will give you insight into those groups who made their lives here for thousands of years before people started writing history.
The week of prehistory will begin with the annual Prehistory Open House at the Rio Grande Depot on Saturday, May 7, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Sponsored by the Division of State History, the open house will include hands-on activities for kids, spear and atlatl throwing, Navajo tacos, and demonstrations on prehistoric technology and rock art.
The next Saturday, May 14, the Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge will host its own open house, with presentations on archaeology, zooarchaeology, and ethnobotany. Visitors can experience flintknapping and cave and bird tours (May 14 is International Migratory Bird Day).
On the 14th (only), visitors will be allowed to camp at the refuge. The refuge will sponsor a potluck dinner and a special campfire program. Call (435) 831-5353 for more information.
On Sunday, May 15, the Division of State History will offer free guided tours of Danger and Jukebox caves (near Wendover). Space is limited, so call Ron Rood at (801) 533-3564 to reserve a spot on the tours.
INTERESTING HISTORICAL FLUFF DEPARTMENT
Powell's Brain
John Wesley Powell (explorer of the Colorado River, ethnographer, visionary bureaucrat, and namesake for Lake Powell) once made a bet with his colleague about who had the bigger brain. The colleague, W. J. McGee, had a little obsession about brain sizes. McGee was passionate about finding physical differences among the races. He spent his time comparing body characteristics, including brain size, trying to prove the superiority of the Caucasian race.
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Anyway, even though McGee had a bigger head (in more ways than one, it is said), Powell bet on his own brain. But how would they decide the winner? The two made a plan: When one of them died, a surgeon would remove the brain, preserve it, and send it to the other. Powell died first, in 1902, so McGee had famous gray matter for his mantlepiece until he himself succumbed in 1912. Then both brains went to neurologist Dr. Edward Spitzka.
Spitzka had built a career of studying the brains of unusual people, like geniuses, criminals, and the insane. The physical qualities of a brain, he felt, reflected and revealed the owner's character.
So who won the bet? Powell, of course. Spitzka wrote, "Major Powell was endowed with a superior brain. What is more he used it well."
Spitzka also listed Powell's qualities as "revealed" in the structure of his brain. The Utah Division of State History has this list in the papers (MSS B361) of William Culp Darrah, author of Powell of the Colorado, who copied it from a microfilm at the Library of Congress.
According to Spitzka, Powell's brain showed:
"Broad and comprehensive mental grasp, unusually gifted, natural aptitude for philosophizing, great gift of sympathy and honesty, invincible determination, unflinching courage (his leading characteristic), devotion to the truth, valiant, serious, swift in action, fine, strong, rugged, just, sincere, a potential musician, keen sense of observation, musical and poetic faculties, superior ability to form concepts, pronounced mental characteristics."
Very interesting. But would Spitka have found the same characteristics if he had been told this was the brain of a criminal?
ON THE ROAD
The John Jarvie Ranch Historic Site
The Jarvie Ranch is a unique historic site administered by the Bureau of Land Management. It is located in Browns Park (or Browns Hole), which lies roughly half in Utah and half in Colorado, with some of the northern extremities reaching into Wyoming. Before Flaming Gorge Dam changed water flows, the Green River would spread out over the land during times of high water levels, naturally irrigating the meadows and creating a lush valley. A temperate climate made Browns Park a winter haven for the wildlife as well as Utes and Shoshones. During the 1800s, the protected valley also attracted Anglo Americans.
John Jarvie, a Scotsman, settled his ranch in Browns Park in 1880. He was known as the "sage of the Uintas," the genius of Browns Park. An astute businessman with interests in mining and livestock, he provided the area with a general store-trading post, post office, blacksmith shop and ferry. He also had a license to make and sell whiskey. The ranch provided him with fruit from the orchard, potatoes, and corn from which to distill the spirits.
Jarvie was an educated pioneer who wrote and recited poetry, read stories, played the organ and concertina, and entertained the Browns Park residents at social functions.
The isolation of Browns Hole, combined with its other advantages, also provided a backcountry setting for the bad men of the time. Notorious outlaws would "hole up" in Browns Hole. The "Hole" was encircled by three states, allowing an outlaw to easily travel outside a state lawman's jurisdiction. Jarvie knew Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid of the Wild Bunch, outlaws Matt Warner and Isom Dart, and Queen of the Rustlers Ann Bassett.
The sights and sounds of Browns Park then would have been much different than those of today. The sounds of nature from the wind and the animals would be heard, along with the crackling of a campfire. The smells of nature's plant life would be enjoyed, along with the aroma of coffee on the campfire. The stars would be all of the light nature would provide, supplemented by lanterns and candles.
Today, visitors to the Jarvie Ranch can imagine the lingering sights, sounds, and smells of the old West. The ranch still has original structures and a fascinating history. Two festivals take place at the ranch each year, on the Saturday before Father's Day and on the first Saturday in December. Visitors travel from the neighboring three states to attend the festivals, which feature western activities for the whole family. During 2005, the summer festival will be held on June 18 and the winter festival on December 3.
Directions to the Jarvie Ranch:
From Vernal, Utah (via Clay Basin): North on Highway 191 for 55 miles to the Wyoming-Utah border, then east 22 miles on maintained gravel road which includes 2 miles down Jesse Ewing Canyon with grades approaching 14 percent.
From Vernal, Utah (via Crouse Canyon): North on Vernal Avenue to Fifth North, then east 25 miles to the Diamond Mountain and Brown's Park signed turnoff. From there, travel 16 miles north on an infrequently maintained dirt road to Browns Park. Follow signs to the Jarvie Ranch. Call ahead for road conditions if weather is a question.
For more information, visit http://www.blm.gov/utah/vernal/rec/john.html
Lola Bird, Bureau of Land Management
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| The historic building shown on the Winter 2004 cover of Currents is the Midway Town Hall. Local workers built this large building in 1941 using funds from the Works Progress Administration. (The WPA was part of FDR's New Deal, intended to help the nation recover from the Great Depression.) For more than six decades the people of Midway have used this stone, English Tudor-style building for social, recreation, and government activities. | |
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Respondents who correctly identified the building were Stephen L. Carr, Holladay; Lill Hechtte, Provo; Soni Ekins, Salt Lake City; Eileen Thompson, Salt Lake City; Dayle White, Salt Lake City; Margery B. Bitter, Salt Lake City; Verna Probst, Murray; Brigitte P. Morley, Midvale; Clair Obray, River Heights; Bette J. Clayton, Salt Lake City; Kathleen Carn, Kamas; David Frahm, Orem; Becky Smith, Heber City; Helen and Zane Bergeson, Salt Lake City; Corlee Stout, Hollaay. Margery B. Bitter was selected in the drawing to receive a copy of Utah's Historic Architecture 1847-1940: A Guide. |
*Careful, Kids!! Don't try this sentence at home!
Editor's note: Yes, we know "Where's That At?" is bad grammar. A more proper construction would be, "Where's This?" or "In What Area of the State Can One Find This Building?"
We just thought we'd have some fun with an all-too-common Utah phrase. But it's not for amateurs. Please, for your own safety, don't try this sentence at home.
I have the ideal assignment, which is to write about two of the things I love most: books and history. Even better, I get to choose books that I like. I can leave the hard and sometimes perilous work of critical reviews to others. That way I don't have any authors (or, hopefully, readers) mad at me.
A couple of years ago, I wrote about The Mountain Meadows Massacre by Juanita Brooks. I made no secret of the fact that she is not only one of my favorite authors and historians, but also one of my biggest heroes (heroines?). She risked much and exhibited great courage in researching and writing this classic study of a very volatile and controversial subject. She also wrote many other groundbreaking books and articles; indeed, her bibliography is long and impressive. But although her writing was an integral part of Juanita Brooks, her life was rich and fascinating even without it.
Seven years before her death in 1989, Brooks published a memoir of her early life, Quicksand and Cactus: A Memoir of the Southern Mormon Frontier. But the book leaves much of her life and career untouched, and it leaves readers hungering for more. Fortunately, Levi S. Peterson, known for his witty and brilliant works of Mormon fiction, stepped in to satisfy that hunger by producing an immensely readable and fascinating biography of this Utah icon. In 1988, Peterson's penetrating Juanita Brooks: Mormon Woman Historian was published by the University of Utah Press and went on to win several awards, including the prestigious David W. and Beatrice C. Evans Annual Biography Award and the Best Book Award from the Mormon History Association. In 1996 the press reprinted it in paperback.
Already a devotee of Levi Peterson, I devoured the book as soon as it came off the press and was enthralled by it. I recall staying up late several nights in a row taking in this rich collection of not only facts but also wonderful prose, written as only Levi could. I have been re-reading it lately, and it's like visiting an old close friend after years of separation. The chapter on The Mountain Meadows Massacre, "The Story She Was Born to Tell," is worth the price of the book alone.
Peterson ably portrays Brooks in all her roles, including that of wife, mother, Latter-day Saint, teacher, writer, and historian. He obviously admires and respects his subject and enumerates her many strengths and qualities, but he does not hesitate to also point out her shortcomings. He gives a full, honest portrait of a remarkable woman whose life and writings have influenced countless individuals and institutions. A review in the Utah Historical Quarterly describes Levi Peterson's biography as "perhaps the best biography of a Utah individual to date, and a work of major historical importance." I couldn't have said it better myself.
Curt Bench, owner of Benchmark Books, SLC. (801) 486-3111.
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Annual photo contest: Theaters
Utah Preservation magazine's annual photo contest is seeking images of Utah's most intriguing historic theaters. Winning photographs will be published in the Division of State History's award-winning Utah Preservation magazine. Winners will also receive prizes, including custom digital enlargements from Borge Andersen & Associates, one of the contest sponsors.
Since the first organized productions held in the bowery on Temple Square in the 1850s, through the vaudeville period and the motion picture era, Utahns have flocked to theaters for the latest films and live performances. Many of these buildings were designed to transport audiences to fanciful, faraway places; Art Deco, Egyptian, and Chinese motifs have brought a unique element to the theater-going experience.
Contest Rules
1. Subjects must be historic Utah theaters (50 years or older).
2. Limit of three entries per contestant.
3. Photos may be slides or prints (color or black-and-white) or digital images (300 dpi or higher) taken by the contestant.
4. Entries should include the location of the structure and the name, address, and telephone number of the photographer/ contestant.
5. Entries will be judged foremost on photographic quality (originality, subject, composition, lighting, etc.), but location will also be taken into account in order to encourage photos from all parts of the state.
6. All photos will become part of the Division of State History's permanent photo collection. Due to the large number of entries, we will not be able to return photos.
7. This year there will be a "Youth Category" for photographers high-school age and younger. Youth entries should be so marked.
The contest deadline date is April 15, 2005 (postmarked).
Submit entries to:
Theater Photo Contest
300 S. Rio Grande
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Congratulations, Mr. Harrison!
Utah State Historical Society member Michael Harrison, of Fair Oaks, California, turned 107 years old recently. Mr. Harrison, born on December 13, 1897, still enjoys Utah history--and he has lived a lot of it!
A groundbreaking event at Four Corners
After eight years of working toward creation of a new Four Corners Monument, officials from the Division of State History, the four states, the Ute Mountain Ute and Navajo tribes, and federal government finally broke ground last November. Also present were the Ute and Navajo families who had agreed to exchange their grazing rights in the area so the monument could be built. When completed, the monument will include a plaza and an interpretive center.
It's coming, it's coming!
Attention, lovers of history, prehistory, and preservation. And attention all those who are not sure if they fit into that category. You'll have plenty to love at the annual meeting of the Utah State Historical Society, Sept. 15--17.
The committee is busy planning traditional and beyond-traditional activities for the three-day event. Keep an eye on history.utah.gov for more info, or call 801/533-3500.
Call for proposals
The Utah State Historical Society invites submission of session proposals for its 2005 annual meeting (see story above). Papers and sessions may deal with prehistory, history, historic preservation, archives and collections, oral history, folklore, and related topics. We also invite creative proposals incorporating the arts, media, and interdisciplinary studies.
Send a one- or two-page proposal to Kent Powell, 300 Rio Grande, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101, no later than April 30. Please include a brief description of the topic and research base as well as a brief biographical profile of the presenter(s). Proposals can also be e-mailed to Kent Powell.
Send your nominations
Every year, people throughout Utah give extraordinary service in preserving the state's heritage. The Utah State Historical Society recognizes outstanding efforts with annual awards. If you know an individual or organization who deserves to be honored for contributions to Utah prehistory, history, or preservation, please send us an award nomination.
Nominations are due on April 30, 2005. Get a nomination form-- call (801) 533-3556.
Help us create our 5-year strategic plan
Every five years the Division of State History revisits its strategic plan with the help of its partners, colleagues, and the public.
We have scheduled four planning meetings during 2005 and invite anyone interested in the direction and focus of history, prehistory, and preservation in the state to join us. The meetings are: April 28 in Price, August 25 in Logan, October 20 in St. George, and November 17 in Salt Lake.
For more information on time and place, call 801/533-3500.
OCTA is coming to town
In August Salt Lake City will host the annual convention of the Oregon--California Trails Association. The Utah Crossroads Chapter of OCTA is hard at work planning a full slate of papers, workshops, and field trips. Trips available before, during, and after the convention include explorations of the Salt Lake Cutoff (with railroad highlights), Donner Spring, the Hastings Cutoff, the Lincoln Highway/Pony Express Trail, Soda Springs, Fort Bridger and Fort Supply, Mormon Flat to Big Mountain Pass, and more.
The Oregon--California Trails Association, founded in 1982, is a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Missouri. It focuses on education about, preservation of, and enjoyment of the trans-Mississippi emigrant trails.
For more information about OCTA or the conference, see www.octa-trails.org/ or call Brent Reber at 801/466-0405 or Vern Gorzitze at 801/484-9623.
American Association for State and Local History awards
The American Association for State and Local History is now accepting nominations for the 2005 AASLH awards. The awards program recognizes excellent achievements in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history. In 2004 AASLH recognized the Digital Newspaper Project at the University of Utah with an Award of Merit. AASLH also awards Certificates of Commendation, the Albert B. Corey Award (which recognizes scholarship and imagination in volunteer-operated historical organizations), and the Award of Distinction. AASLH gives these last two awards only infrequently.
For a nomination form, contact state awards chair Craig Fuller at 801/533-3538 or cfuller@utah.gov, or visit the AASLH web site at www.aaslh.org/cgi-bin/awards.cgi
THE Sugarhouse PEN
A Photo Essay
You would never guess it today: Salt Lake City's Sugarhouse Park (southeast of 13th East and 21st South) was once quite a different place. It may now attract picnickers, fireworks watchers, joggers, soccer players, kiteflyers, and sledders, but Sugarhouse Park was once the home of the state penitentiary.
Utah Territory built its first prison here--just southeast of the city limits--in 1854. In 1860, Sir Richard Burton described it: "It is a somewhat oriental-looking building, with a large quadrangle behind the house, guarded by a wall with a walk on the summit and pepper-caster sentry boxes at each angle. There are cells, in which the convicts are shut up at night, but one of these had lately been broken by an Indian, who had cut his way through the wall. We found in it besides the guardians, only six persons, of whom two were Utah Indians."
By the 1860s, the state legislature considered the prison "dilapidated and unsafe," and wrote to Congress asking for money for repairs. Since Utah was on the thoroughfare to the Pacific "and subject to the marauding depredations of dishonest and unprincipled adventurere," the legislature wrote, Utah simply had to have a secure prison.
In the 1880s, the state tore down the old prison and built a new, modern, steam-heated penitentiary. This time, stone walls, not adobe, surrounded the prison.
All photos from the Utah Division of State History collections.
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The prison in about 1870. |
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In the 1880s, the state tore down the old prison and built a new, modern, steam-heated penitentiary. This time, stone walls, not adobe, surrounded the prison. This photo shows the building in 1903. |
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The first prison was just 16 cozy cells dug into the ground, with iron bars on top. There followed soon after an adobe wall enclosing a log dining room/meeting hall, a dormitory, and crates or "cells" for inmates. |
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Cell house guard desk and reception area, 1909. |
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Cell interior, 1909. |
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An inmate enjoys the paper in this 1936 photo. |
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The cell block that was home to many convicts over the years, shown in a 1938 Salt Lake Tribune photo. When the state moved the prison, guards relocated the graves of 29 prisoners--five of whom had been executed at the prison. The body of the famous labor organizer Joe Hill, executed at Sugar House in 1915, was not one of them. His ashes, divided and sent out in envelopes, were scattered in every state but Utah by union members on May Day 1916. |
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A guard atop the wall in 1948. When crews set out to demolish the three-foot-thick stone walls in 1956, nine sticks of dynamite barely dented them. Using pneumatic hammers as well as dynamite, the crews practically had to take the walls down rock by rock. |
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The prison grounds, guard walkway, and 21st South, in August 1948. |
After more than a half century of use, the Sugar House prison had become outdated. Besides, subdivisions had grown up all around the prison site, and residents were anxious to see the prisoners go somewhere else. In 1951 the state moved the prison to Point of the Mountain. But what to do with the land that had once contained the prison and the large prison gardens? Developers had plenty of ideas, like a golf course, an amusement park, a tourist campground, and a department store. Still, many people simply wanted a nice city park. The tight-fisted Gov. J. Bracken Lee said the city "had no business building a park," but fortunately the park-lovers won out. The soon-to-be Highland High School received 30 acres, and the rest of the land became the park enjoyed by so many today. |
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