We all live downstream of history and upstream of the future.
Winter 2004
| In This Issue - Education | Features | News | |
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Schooling for our Kids Where Else but in Teaching? Forging an Educational Future
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Lost World: A Visit to Range Creek by Philip F. Notarianni, director, Utah Division of State History/State Historical Society Archaeologists from the Division of State History and the Utah Museum of Natural History continue to discover...more Lunar New Year, 1902 A Toll Road in Southern Utah Who Slept Here? (part two) Where's that at? Bookmarks by Curt Bench
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News and Notes
A Great Membership Deal
"Interesting Things We Do" Department
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A historical tale
Education. For Utahns right now, it's the state's top priority issue.* We care a lot about our children and their future. And caring as we do, we disagree fairly regularly. There's no one answer--not now, not ever--about how to teach, how to fund, how to manage.
As policymakers today wrestle with the usual stew of educational issues (tuition tax credits, teacher/pupil ratios,curriculum, etc., etc.), it may be edifying to remember that the adults of yesteryear also cared about their kids' education. They also disagreed over the best way to do things.
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A school wagon, precursor to the school bus. |
So that we can remember how it was, we offer a homely tale of education and politics in the Bear River valley.
Do-It-Yourself Schools
Anglo American settlers moved to what is now Garden City (on the west shore of Bear Lake) in the 1870s. They wasted no time in putting up a log schoolhouse/church. A curtain could separate the building into two classrooms. And when Nature called? An outdoor privy.
By 1900, the town could afford to build a frame school. Each of its three rooms had a woodstove. During breaks children could get a drink from a bucket of water in the hall. In 1914 the town built the children an even better building, a new four-room brick school for grades one through eight. In subsequent years, the school would add grades 9 through 12.
Lobbying the School Board
Until this time, Rich County had had seven independent school districts, each with its own school (Garden City, Sage Creek, Round Valley, Laketown, Argyle, Meadowville, and Woodruff). But in 1915 the county commissioners created a county-wide school district with five precincts.
The new Board of Education would have its hands full juggling needs and demands from each precinct. Garden City's first request was for more desks and teachers for their new brick school. They also asked for and got funds to "bus" kids to and from school with teams and wagons.
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Little Mothers' class, sponsored by the Board of Health, at Lincoln School, Salt Lake City, 1915. |
The "C" Word
Over time, the school board looked for more ways to consolidate schooling. In 1928 Garden City residents fought a threatened consolidation; they lost when the board finally voted to bus the G.C. high school students to Laketown, at the south end of Bear Lake. The decision annoyed Garden City parents and probably whipped up some inter-town jealousies that would play out later.
In the meantime, the Great Depression was pruning the remaining school population; families who couldn't make a living on the small farms of the area kept moving away. In 1931, 95 students attended the little brick building in Garden City, but by 1943 only 42 remained. To make matters worse, a fire burned the school down in 1944.
Back to School (the old one, that is)
Although the district hastily rounded up extra textbooks and desks and opened a makeshift school in the basement of the LDS church, the superintendent felt that this would be a perfect time to finish the consolidation job and send the Garden City elementary kids to Laketown too. He argued that bigger schools were better schools and that a separate Garden City elementary was not cost-effective.
But the board disagreed and instead voted to spend $250 to clean up the old G. C. school, abandoned 30 years earlier. So the children went back to outdoor toilets and a bucket of water in the hallway while the adults worked on getting a new school built.
The town decided it wanted a large gym/lunchroom as part of their new elementary. The board obligingly put a bond election on the ballot. But Garden City's excitement for a gym did not infect the rest of the county's taxpayers, and the bond issue failed.
You Say You Want a Revolution?
Maybe it was the fact that the county hadn't supported their school. Maybe it was community pride or jealousy. Maybe it was the feeling that they could find better teachers across the Idaho border. But whatever the reason, the Garden City parents began to send their older teenagers to school in Paris, Idaho.
Pretty soon, they were sending the 7th and 8th graders up north too, and only one student was left still riding the bus from Garden City to Laketown. The school board was none too pleased, especially since the Paris schools were asking for out-of-state tuition payments. Besides, fewer students meant weaker Rich County schools. To compensate, the board discussed closing the Laketown school and bussing students up the canyon to Randolph. The Laketown parents naturally fought this idea, arguing they didn't want to send their kids on such a dangerous drive every day.
Garden City parents, on the other hand, said they wouldn't mind the 20 extra miles of bus ride for their kids. They were willing to send their kids to Randolph or Paris, but not to Laketown.
After wrestling the issue through several meetings, the school board voted to close the case on the "runaway" students. They would not send tuition payments to Paris, and they would give no more time and consideration to the issue. That was more than 50 years ago.
And now?
Garden City now has no school at all, while Laketown and Randolph both have an elementary school. In an apparent compromise, Randolph has the high school and Laketown has the middle school. Most, if not all, students are apparently attending school in their own district.
It's not the end of controversy, though. Like school boards around the state, Rich County school board will wrestle with no end of issues as parents, educators, and policymakers try to find answers to the perennial questions: What's best for the children? And how will we manage to do what's best with limited resources?
*according to a Utah Foundation poll. See www.utahpriorities.net.
Kristen Rogers, Currents editor
Taken from Earl F. Passey, Public Education in Rich County, Utah, Masters thesis, University of Utah, 1951. Available at State History library, 300 Rio Grande, SLC.
WHERE ELSE BUT IN TEACHING
Utah's 2003 Teacher of the Year brings dull textbook facts to life
By Scott Crump
For the past 27 years I have taught history and political science at Bingham High School. What makes history so exciting for me and so important for today's students? History helps students to understand the world around them and to appreciate the differences between peoples.
Growing up in a mining town made me aware of the diverse nature of our country. Mining towns are famous for their polyglot of nationalities; in Copperton I had one best friend who was Greek and another who was Italian. I learned firsthand that America really is a melting pot, and I expect my students to appreciate the backgrounds that others bring to the classroom. We work together to develop skills for positive interaction between the citizens of the group, the community, the state, and the nation.
I also feel it is vitally important that students understand the relevance of history to the world around them. We look at architecture, literature, music, dancing, politics, economics, current events, and the impact different cultures and history have had upon us today. We track trends in philosophy, technology, military history, agriculture, and government, to name just a few. We take field trips to hear prominent speakers, see architecture, or visit sites like the Pony Express Trail. We may simulate historical events or relive one with an historical interpreter. These hands-on experiences help my students begin to realize that they are a part of history and government. Once-dull textbook facts come alive.
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Teaching at Lincoln High, SLC, 1946 |
In 2003 I was honored to be named Utah Teacher of the Year. A highlight of the year was meeting President and Mrs. Bush in the White House. Never in my wildest dreams as a young boy in Copperton, Utah, did I think that I would one day be able to meet the President of the United States.
My family came with me, and on the way home, my ten-year-old daughter said that, despite the many memorials she had just visited, one had been forgotten. She had drawn a picture of it. There on her notepad was a picture of her first, second, third, and fourth grade teachers and her father standing inside a Greek temple. Written above was the caption "Teachers are Important Memorial." I did not have the heart to tell her that memorials are for dead people, but in her own special way she expressed the fact that teachers do make a difference.
Each day as I enter the classroom, I have the opportunity to go back in time to Ancient Egypt, the Middle Ages, the Constitutional Convention, or the Old West. I am able to discuss the important issues of those times and how they apply to the present. Each day I try to transfer to my students my excitement about history and the people who make it. Where else but in teaching could one have this challenging and exciting opportunity?
Scott Crump is a longtime member of the Utah State Historical Society.
Utah's once-perennial "Education Paradox"--that we spend more of our budget on education than most other states while at the same time spending less per pupil than any other state--is becoming a mere memory.
So says the Utah Foundation, a nonprofit, non-advocacy research organization, in its latest research brief on education. Sure, we still have a student population that is 20 percent larger than the national average, and we're still dead last in the amount we spend per pupil. But our spending as a proportion of tax revenues has dropped.
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Children on the playground of Lincoln School, 1911. |
In 1995, Utah was 5th nationally in the amount of state and local revenues it spent on education. However, by 1999 the state had fallen to 42nd place. During these years, the economy was good. While other states increased their spending on education, Utah largely spent its increased revenues elsewhere--on roads, for instance.
By the end of 2002, Utah had come back to a rank of 35th. Still, the state can no longer point to the great percentage of resources it is spending on students.
Nor can it brag about how well it does with fewer resources. The Utah Foundation points out that, although Utah proudly points to student test scores that are above the national average, those scores actually reflect the fact that few low-income minorities live in Utah. In fact, when you break out the numbers, you find that:
* White Utah students score lower than the average for white students nationally.
* Asian and American Indian Utah students score lower than the national average for these ethnicities.
* In general, Hispanic Utah students also do less well than the national average for Hispanics.
Clearly, if Utah is to meet the needs of its many children, it must not rest on the laurels--or statistics--of the past. Instead, we must accept today's reality, wrestle with tough issues, work through the disagreements, find actual solutions, and forge a new future for education in Utah.
For full reports on education and other issues, see www.utahpriorities.net.
LOST WORLD: A VISIT TO RANGE CREEK
by Philip F. Notarianni, director, Utah Division of State History/State Historical Society
Archaeologists from the Division of State History and the Utah Museum of Natural History continue to discover a lost world in the Book Cliffs of Carbon and Emery counties. What is now a well-publicized tract of land along Range Creek had for years been protected and isolated. In this canyon, rancher Waldo Wilcox guarded the secrets that might help to unlock clues into the 1,000-year-old lifeways of the Fremont culture. The State of Utah took ownership of the land in February 2004.
In August, Board of State History members toured Range Creek. To the untrained eye, signs of the Fremont are almost impossible to see. So before entering Range Creek, the board visited the College of Eastern Utah's Prehistoric Museum for a basic background. There, guided by museum curator and board member Pam Miller, the board saw Fremont artifacts and dioramas of pithouses illustrating how a culture lived and survived in rough terrain.
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Rancher Waldo Wilcox shows Fremont petroglyphs in Range Creek Canyon to Philip Notarianni. |
The group then congregated at the Horse Canyon Mine, a launching point for the trip to Range Creek. The legendary discoverer of "Gilsonite," Samuel Gilson, roamed this area in the 1870s and 1880s. In fact, just below the mine lies a tree in which Gilson carved his name.
Small coal mining operations probably once existed in the area, but in 1936 the substantial Cedar Ridge Coal Company formed. World War II launched a governmental policy of establishing steel mills near the sources of raw materials, away from potentially bomb-threatened areas. Defense Plant Corporation bought the mine and began to supply coal to the new Geneva Steel plant in Orem. The mine complex, which continued operation until 1982, provided an interesting gateway to Range Creek. And cell phones still work there!
After that, the road climbs, winds, and twists to a summit then dives sharply down to the creek bottom and the Wilcox Ranch. In the canyon, Fremont sites remained hidden to the visitors until archaeologists pointed them out. One must look high and low and know where to train the eye to find granaries or rock art high on the canyon walls. The remains of pithouses are also virtually impossible to find without a guide
En route to the former ranch house, the board passed historic sites such as the Darioli stone cabin. The main ranch complex is a combination of rustic log structures, a larger ranch house, water wheel, and various barns and outbuildings. An incredible diversion dam built out of railroad coal cars points to the ingenuity of water usage in a relatively dry area. With its historic and archaeological sites, the canyon is a testimony to the difficulty yet beauty of life in the arid West.
After their visit, the Board of State History affirmed the archaeological importance of the area. But Range Creek is not at present a place the general public can visit. While an effective management plan and visitation policies for Range Creek are being formulated, we recommend that you visit the CEU Prehistoric Museum in Price, Fremont Indian State Park, or Nine Mile Canyon. There you can encounter and begin to understand Utah's unique, fascinating 1,000-year-old Fremont culture.
LUNAR NEW YEAR, 1902
"When a Chinese host invites you to take a seat at his table, you in a sense become a member of the family, " according to a report in the Deseret Evening News of February 8, 1902. The article noted that hundreds of "prominent" Salt Lakers would visit Chinatown during the New Year celebrations; those who conducted themselves as "gentlemen" might be fortunate enough to "obtain access to the interior of the Chinese dwellings and 'joss' house parties."
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Two residents on Plum Alley in 1907. |
About 400 people, mostly men, lived in Salt Lake's Chinatown at this time. On Plum Alley, which ran between First and Second South between Main and State streets, the Chinese lived in tenement-like buildings among their dry goods stores, restaurants, and noodle parlors. Fortunately for historians, some Chinese were willing to admit reporters and photographers into their homes, providing us a look at their traditions.
New Year's was a time of forgiveness, caring for the poor, visiting friends, and celebrating. The News described the elaborate feasts that would be found in many homes. The richest members of the community offered their guests "deep sea fish from China which retails for $10 a pound," oysters, snails, and clams, as well as the more common roast pork and chicken.
Having filled themselves with the delicacies of the season, most Chinese would then visit the Joss House, located above Ah Woo's store for prayers. Music from Chinese stringed instruments and the smell of burning incense would fill the air, as would the almost continuous popping of firecrackers.
Chin Quan Chan, the "mayor" of Chinatown and a prosperous merchant, entertained many during the celebrations. During New Year, the Deseret News reported, "Chin is in all his glory. He it is who heads the contributions for the purchase of fireworks, and none entertains so royally as does he. During the week or ten days' celebration, hundreds of people, well-known residents of Salt Lake, visit his place nightly and are treated to wine, fruit, candy and nuts, while he relates to them stories of his native country and endeavors to explain the mysteries of their religious rites."
The newspaper's courteous writing about the Chinese contrasted with earlier attitudes. In 1874 Salt Lake City had declared Chinese laundries to be public nuisances and fined several Chinese for operating them. Later that year, the council passed a statute aimed at the Chinese to keep them from butchering pigs within the city limits. Another ordinance forbade the Chinese to let off fireworks to celebrate their New Year. They also had to pay the poll tax even though they were not citizens and could not vote.
In the early 1900s, although the paper might call them the "slant-eyed sons of the Flowery Kingdom," the Chinese commanded more respect. A 1907 News article said, "Scattered about the city are the laundries and in the suburbs are the Chinese gardens, the finest in the county." Chinese restaurants and stores had spread onto State Street, and their owners often became prosperous.
But the days of a compact Chinatown in Salt Lake were numbered. Plum Alley began to decline in population, and by 1940 the Chinese had vacated the last large tenement on Plum Alley.
Taken from articles in the Utah State Historical Society's History Blazer and Utah Historical Quarterly.
A TOLL ROAD IN SOUTHERN UTAH
By Naomi D. Lunt
Utah also once had toll roads. Years ago, Henry Hunter Lunt of Cedar City told me, "Toll roads were a common part of traveling in our early days. To many men, it was a means of making an extra buck. They would camp beside the rivers and wait for the wagons to approach.... They would then offer to put their two extra teams on and take them through the swift waters for a fee."
As far as I have learned, the first toll road in southern Utah was owned by Washington County. A stretch of road between Cedar City and St. George had soft red sand where the wagon wheels would sink to the hubs. Four to six horses would have to be whipped and forced to pull their loads through it. The worst part of this road was located a few miles north of Leeds.
As early as 1897, the county commissioners realized their responsibility to improve highways. The minutes of the Board of County Commissioners of November 10, 1897, record a discussion about this stretch of road, called Grapevine. William Stirling, the road commissioner, presented a proposal for making a water trough at Grapevine Spring. The commissioners appropriated $15 to erect the trough and another $5 to clean out the spring.
Water trough notwithstanding, this road became a nightmare for all who traveled north or south. When wagons became stuck, they would need to be emptied and the contents carried through and reloaded. Also, barrels of sorghum would become covered with red silt. Zelma Jones Lunt told me of the great expectations the children of Cedar City had as they waited for the sorghum wagons rolling in from St. George. The children would chase after the wagons so they could run their fingers along the rough, dull planks, scrape off the sand-coated sorghum, and then lick their fingers. Nothing could ever taste so good.
After years of travelers fighting the elements, the Washington County commissioners decided to make this mile and a quarter of road into a toll road. On January 4, 1907, they considered an ordinance granting John Batty, William A. Bringhurst, and Joseph R. Naegle a franchise to make and maintain a toll road in Washington County. After some discussion, the ordinance passed with ayes by Chairman Brown and Commissioner Spilsbury. Commissioner Prince was absent.
The franchise holders cut sagebrush all year long and pounded it into the sand of the trail. This was a continual task, as the winds would blow and shift the sand, and the sagebrush would sink to unknown depths. But the sagebrush helped, and the weary travelers and their sleek sweating horses plowed through with comparative ease. Those who appreciated the better road didn't complain about the 50-cent cost for the mile and a quarter traveled.
If you factor in the difference in purchasing power between 1907 and today, those drivers were paying the equivalent of $10 for each trip along the Grapevine Road.
Contributing author Naomi Lunt lives in Cedar City.
WHO SLEPT HERE? (Part Two)
Find out when your home was built.
by Cory Jensen, State Historic Preservation Office
In the last issue of Currents we discussed how to begin researching a historic building and how a title search at the county recorder's office should be the first step in this process. (See history.utah.gov/news/fall04.html) We also mentioned that old tax assessment files and photos can provide important information about the construction and early appearance of a building. In this article we will discuss resources for pinning down a construction date for your house.
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The Decker residence on 15th East, SLC, on December 26, 1933. |
A title search will not usually tell you when your house was built. You'll probably have to deduce this date by using these different resources:
The tax file construction date is not always accurate, especially if your home was built before 1900. But it can provide a starting point for research.
The title abstract can provide hints of the construction date; large increases in monetary value may indicate when improvements were made to the property, including the construction of a building. By comparing this with the tax file information, you can determine whether a construction date is accurate, or if instead the increased value reflects the date of an addition to the house.
City or Polk Directories were published on a yearly basis for larger cities. The volumes prior to 1924 list the property owners' names in alphabetical order, so you can look up a name, and an address will be provided. From 1924 on, there is also a section where you can look up a street address and find the occupant's name. By seeing when an address appears in the directory, you can determineabout when a building was constructed. However, a couple of caveats apply. 1) Sometimes building addresses have changed slightly over time. 2) In early years, addresses were not provided for buildings in many communities, and the directory might have a phrase like "in the middle of the block" instead of an address. City Directories can be found at the State History library at the Rio Grande Depot as well as at most major reference libraries. Telephone books provide similar information for those buildings constructed mid-20th century and later.
Building permit registers are on file at the State History library for buildings in Salt Lake City built between 1890 and 1927. The building permits provide the date the permit was issued, the address of the property, the estimated cost of construction, a brief description of the building, the name of the owner, and sometimes the names of the architect and builder. If your house was constructed during that time period, the building permit provides the most accurate date of construction.
Sanborn Maps are a vital research tool for many communities. These maps were produced to provide insurance companies details about buildings in urban areas. The maps show building footprints and placement on lots, construction materials, and door openings. These maps were randomly published beginning in 1884 in Salt Lake City, and later in other Utah communities. Unfortunately, more isolated, larger communities did not have maps made until the first decade or two of the 20th century, and many smaller communities never had maps (a list of the maps produced is available at the State History library). Although these maps will not provide an exact construction date, you may be able to narrow down a date by using two consecutive maps if the building doesn't show up on the first but does on the second. You can also get an idea of the original footprint and materials of your house. This is particularly useful if the house has been altered. The maps are available at State History on microfilm and at the University of Utah as hard copy. Some are online at the University of Utah's Special Collections at www.lib.utah.edu/digital/sanborn/index.html
Cadastral Maps may help you locate rural properties outside of city boundaries or in towns with no Sanborn Maps. Cadastral Maps, which were produced by the General Land Office, do not typically show buildings in towns and settlements, and they did not always show existing buildings outside of towns, but there is a possibility of one showing up on the map. The Cadastral Maps are available on microfiche at the Salt Lake City Bureau of Land Management office.
Family histories are another useful resource, although one must be cautious when getting a construction date from this source. Many times, the histories are based on recollections of individuals many years after the events. As we know, time can dim memories, so it is best to check these dates against other resources.
With these various tools, hopefully you can figure out when your home was built. Unfortunately, even after you check all these reference tools, you sometimes won't be able to come up with an exact date and will have to settle for an approximate date.
In the next issue we will discuss researching the actual history of the building and look at the various biographical information references.
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| Identify the historic building in this photo and win a copy of Utah's Historic Architecture 1847-1940: A Guide, by Thomas Carter and Peter Goss. Send your response (one guess per contestant) to Where's That At, 300 S. Rio Grande, Salt Lake City, UT 84101. Responses must be postmarked by February 1, 2005. A drawing will be held of the winners to determine who receives the book. |
The historic building shown on the Fall 2004 cover of Currents is the Grand County Courthouse located in Moab, Utah. The courthouse was built in 1937 as a Public Works Administration project at a cost of about $65,000. Designed by prominent Utah architects Carl W. Scott and George W. Welch, the building is a good example of the PWA Moderne architectural style.
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BOOK MARKS
Writers of the West
For lovers of Utah and western history, what could be better than a book about the some of the best writers of that history (and who just so happen to have Utah roots?) Gary Topping has written an exceptional and gutsy book about five of those writers and historians: Bernard DeVoto, Dale L. Morgan, Wallace Stegner, Juanita Brooks, and Fawn M. Brodie. Utah Historians and the Reconstruction of Western History, published last year by the University of Oklahoma Press, is written in an engaging style and is marvelously informative and thought-provoking.
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| Fawn Brodie, author of No Man Knows My History and other books, in 1966. |
Topping, associate professor of history at Salt Lake Community College and former curator of manuscripts at the Division of State History, knows his way around Utah history. He presents a fresh and penetrating look at these writers and historians, their strengths (which were many) and weaknesses (more than you might think), and the well-deserved and long-lasting impact they have had on the telling of the story of Utah and the West.
Though Topping focuses on the work produced by the five powerhouses above, he also briefly examines Mormon and Utah historiography and offers insightful critiques of those who crafted it, starting with early Mormon historians Willard Richards and George A. Smith. He then moves on to Hubert Howe Bancroft, who produced the first history of Utah written by a non-Mormon and based on primary sources. He also looks at Leland Creer, Andrew L. Neff, Levi Edgar Young, Milton R. Hunter, Nels Anderson, and Robert Dwyer. Topping is not hesitant to detail the deficiencies of these writers but also gives them their due when it's called for.
On each of the main five subjects, the author devotes several chapters in which he discusses their lives and their writing, evenhandedly lauding their strong points and criticizing their literary and historiographical shortcomings. For example, he calls Wallace Stegner "a great novelist, a great teacher, a great public figure, and even a great scholar" but says he fares less well as a historian, sometimes "stage managing the facts, downplaying or ignoring some things, [and] throwing a full spotlight on others."
Topping is effusive in his praise for Dale Morgan but points out some of his "blind spots and shortcomings" such as gathering facts but not interpreting the factual record for his readers. After praising Juanita Brooks for her considerable courage and ability in producing The Mountain Meadows Massacre, he notes that she stopped short of drawing conclusions that could alienate her from her fellow Mormons.
I admire Gary Topping for his ability to portray these five iconic writers in all their greatness and for his courage in tackling their weaknesses as well. And I'm not alone in my admiration: this book recently won the Best Book of 2003 Award from the Utah State Historical Society.
Curt Bench, owner of Benchmark Books, SLC. (801) 486-3111.
NEWS AND NOTES
Moving Day! (One of many, that is...)
In October, State History staff, volunteers, and a group of burly movers relocated the division's photograph/drawing/map/film collection from one basement room to another in the Rio Grande Depot.
Many who had eyed the collection of almost a million images envisioned a two-week job. But Library/Collections coordinator LInda Thatcher and photo curator Susah Whetstone had a plan. After just two days, the photos had all been efficiently shelved in a freshly painted new room.
USS Salt Lake City Veterans
In September the Division of State History hosted veterans of the USS Salt Lake City for a tea party, using the original silver tea service and other artifacts from the ship, which was built in 1929 and sunk (used as a practice target) in 1948. The tea service was acquired by Salt Lake City in 1937 and at that time was worth $10,000. Later, it was donated to the Utah State Historical Society. About 80 guests attended the tea, which was organized by artifacts curator Sharon Odekirk. The veterans were in Salt Lake City for a reunion.
New State Archives building dedicated
Ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremonies for the new State Archives Building at 346 S. Rio Grande Street, immediately south of the historic Rio Grande Depot, took place October 1.
Gov. Olene S. Walker capped off the ribbon-cutting ceremony by placing the original Utah State Constitution in the Archives' holdings, to be preserved in the building's automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS).
Robert Kirby, Salt Lake Tribune columnist and author, spoke during the dedication ceremony. The program also included remarks by Allen D. Roberts, project architect, and a reading by Kenneth W. Brewer, Utah's poet laureate, of a poem entitled "Persistence of Memory."
Former Representative Loraine T. Pace received recognition for her support of the State Archives. Others recognized were Dr. Everett C. Cooley, Utah's first state archivist; Ferd Johnson, Utah's first records manager; and Jeffery O. Johnson, state archivist, 1984-2002.
The two-story structure houses the division's administration, patron services, records analysis, and micrographics sections and houses the permanent records collection. Beginning in January 2005, State Archives and State History will share a common reading room in the Rio Grande Depot.
2004 USHS Awards
The Utah State Historical Society announced its 2004 award winners at the Society's annual meeting on September 23, 2004. The Society also announced three new Fellows, honored for distinguished research and publication, and three Honorary Life Members, honored for distinguished service to the state and USHS. The award winners are as follows:
Utah State Historical Society Fellows: Richard Sadler, Floyd O'Neil, Peter Goss
Honorary Life Members: William MacKinnon, David Bigler, Jay Haymond
Outstanding Achievement Awards:
Media--Jerry and Donna Spangler, for Horns, Snakes and Axle Grease: A Guide to the History, Archaeology and Rock Art of Nine Mile Canyon.
Public History--Janet Wilcox and Laverne Tate of Blue Mountain Shadows, for the Cottonwood and Elk Ridge mining era interviews and publications.
Outstanding Service Awards:
Community Education--National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers, for education about Utah's pioneer period.
Teaching--Gerri Herrera, for history/social studies programs.
Media--Roger McDonough, for Moments in SLC radio segments.
Public History--Max Harward--for Antelope Island education and publications.
Public History--Carol Radinger for donation of the Ferry dresses collection.
Public History--Mike C. Korologos, for donation of Olympic bid items.
Public History--Kennecott Utah Copper and Louis J. Cononelos, for preserving the Victory Society papers.
Special Commendation Award: Waldo Wilcox, for the protection and preservation of the archaeological and historical resources of the Range Creek area.
William P. MacKinnon Award for professional development of a meritorious employee--Craig Fuller
Publication Awards:
Dale L. Morgan Award for the best scholarly article of 2003 in the Utah Historical Quarterly--
William P. MacKinnon for "The Territorial Dismemberment of Utah, 1850-1896.
Morris S. Rosenblatt Award for the best general interest article in UHQ--Katie Clark Blakesley for "The Story of the SLC Minute Women."
Nick Yengich Memorial Award for the editors' choice article in UHQ--Richard Francaviglia for "Remembering Utah's Sanpete Valley Railway."
Best Utah History Book Award--Gary Topping, for Utah Historians and the Reconstruction of Western History
Best Utah History Article Award for the best article outside UHQ--Shannon A. Novak and Derinna Kopp, for"To Feed a Tree in Zion: Osteological Analysis of the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre."
Way to Go, Cities
Four Utah cities have been named Preserve America Communities, a national recognition for communities that preserve and celebrate their heritage. Instead of tearing down the old and throwing up the new, these communities take advantage of their historic resources for economic development and community revitalization. Preserve America Communities use education and heritage tourism programs to encourage people to experience and appreciate traces of the past.
The honored Utah communities are Mt. Pleasant, Pleasant Grove, Manti, and Murray. Congratulations to them and to all towns and cities who honor and creatively use their irreplaceable historic resources.
History Au Courant: The USHS 2004 Annual Meeting
This year's annual meeting of the Utah State Historical Society proved that history is definitely not a thing of the past. Case in point: a panel composed of two defenders of the Glen Canyon Dam* and two opponents who would like to drain the reservoir.**
W. L. (Bud) Rusho moderated the panel. As the dam was being built, Rusho served as an enthusiastic public relations officer for the Bureau of Reclamation and, he says, he did a "good job." But when he took a trip down Glen Canyon, the realization of what the reservoir would cover "appalled" him.
Rusho's experience embodies the controversy that has surrounded the dam for more than 50 years (the dam was finished in 1963). The panelists continued the debate, interpreting the past and present in divergent ways.
The dam's defenders talked about the 1922 Colorado River Compact, which required states of the upper Colorado Basin to supply states of the lower Basin with a guaranteed amount of water. Lake Powell was authorized in 1956 as a storage facility to enable the upper states to use water while still sending the lower states their portion. In general, the defenders said, dams in the West secure the water supply and ensure the continuation of our culture.
Opponents, on the other hand, argued that the Glen Canyon dam embodies 1950s grandiose thinking--which is now inappropriate. The Bureau of Reclamation and its dams were based on an economic and environmental fallacy: that the West could be settled with " yeoman farmers." Instead, most of the water goes to corporate irrigators and to growing water-guzzling alfalfa. Instead of a water crisis, opponents said, we are experiencing a water management crisis. We can find better, less environmentally destructive and fiscally wasteful ways to manage and provide water.***
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The lively discussion between these two camps showed that how you interpret history makes all the difference in how you view the present and how you envision the future.
The annual meeting was full of many fascinating encounters with history, including other lively discussions, like a panel on early Mormon-Indian relations.
In fact, the Annual Meeting had lots of great elements: ideas, differences of opinion, interesting people (both alive and dead), and the general excitement that comes from discovery.
We're telling you this so that, in case you missed the 2004 history gathering, you can remember not to miss it next year. Mark your calendar for September 2005.
*Bureau of Reclamation public relations specialist Doug Hendricks and former Upper Colorado River Commission director Wayne Cook.
** American West Center director Dan McCool and Glen Canyon Institute director Richard Ingebretsen.
***(You can explore the pros and cons in this debate on the Web. Find several resources at Northern Arizona University library's site: www.nau.edu/library/speccoll/glencanyon.html.)
A GREAT MEMBERSHIP DEAL
Heritage Media Corporation has generously donated copies of the book Grace and Grandeur: A History of Salt Lake City by Thomas G. Alexander for use in a membership campaign to recruit new members for the Utah State Historical Society. This hardback 276-page history is illustrated with both color and black-and-white photographs and will make a handsome addition to the library of anyone interested in Utah history in general and Salt Lake City in particular.
While the supply lasts, we will provide a free copy of the book with each gift membership you order for your friends and family. If you order two or more gift memberships, we will provide a copy of the book to you as well.
Members receive four issues of Utah Historical Quarterly, our issues of our newspaper History Currents, the annual issue of Preservation magazine, and invitations to our special events, including the Annual Meeting.
This is an excellent opportunity to provide gifts that will be remembered and appreciated all year long. Membership dues are only $25 for individuals and $20 for students and senior citizens 65 years or older.
Please complete the order form or call (801) 533-3517.
INTERESTING THINGS WE DO" DEPARTMENT
We--that is, State Historic Preservation Officer Wilson Martin--recently consulted about the historic dam and reservoir in Red Butte Canyon.
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The dam is scheduled to be upgraded, both to meet current standards and to preserve breeding areas for the Junesucker fish.
The US Army Corps of Engineers directed building of this dam in 1930 as part of the water system for Fort Douglas. A rolled earth-filled dam, 435 feet long and 70 feet high, it cost $370,000. The reservoir can hold 140,000,000 gallons of water, which provided culinary water and also water to maintain the fort grounds and such associated facilities as a horse show ring, CCC headquarters, target range, and golf course. The water system served Fort Douglas until 1985, when the fort connected to the municipal water system.
Because the dam has maintained an "integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association," and because it has been associated with significant parts of history, the dam and other structures in the water system are being considered for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Junesucker fish is historic in itself. Native Americans ate it, and so did the Anglo American pioneers. Currently, 14,000 Junesuckers live in the reservoir. The Central Utah Water Conservancy District plans to enhance the habitat as a mitigation for other water projects.
In order that the historic integrity of the dam can be maintained, Martin consulted with district officials about their plans to make a new spillway, install a "crackstopper," and build a new outlet structure. He also encouraged the district to do more than preserve the dam-- to also develop and use the area in ways that would allow people to appreciate the history and beauty of the canyon.
Strike up the Bands!
A Photo Essay
At Laketown's Pioneer Day celebration in 1890, Joseph Robinson listened to the big musical number--a harmonica duet--and shook his head. His town could do better than that! So he talked 14 men into sending away for band instruments. When the horns came, the would-be players grabbed their instruments and launched into their first, enthusiastic concert.
It is said that the dogs all left town that day. One ox ran away in terror, even though it was lame. When it wandered back, it had lost its limp. After some practice, the men eventually created a fine band.
No town in Utah could do without music for long. Music added spice to weekly dances, celebrations, parades, church meetings, and funerals.
In Farmington, LDS Bishop Hess organized the Deseret Brass Band, which held weekly drills with the local militia. In Junction, Carl Peter Barnson offered to buy instruments for kids who couldn't afford them; Frank Wilcox taught the lessons. In coal camps, the coal companies sponsored bands and dances. Different nationalities formed their own bands and had their own dances.
In Cedar City during the 1920s, a band played at the park every Sunday evening during the summer. People flocked to the concerts, sitting on the lawn or, for those who were lucky enough to have one, in their cars. At the end of each piece, enthusiastic horn honks punctuated the applause.
In 1936 ten women organized the Panguitch Rhythm Band, playing tambourines, kazoos, washboards, sticks, triangles, drumbs, combs, tin plates, wooden spoons, and a piano. Rumor has it that the band is still going strong.
We still love our music, though bands and the way music fills our lives have changed. Take a look at some of the musical groups of Utah's past in these photos from the Utah Division of State History collections.
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A cowboy band at the mike in the studios of KDYL, Utah's second radio station. KDYL went on the air two days after KSL began broadcasting in May 1922. |
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The Hawaiian Troubadours, an orchestra from Iosepa, at the Salt Lake City and County Building in 1908. Iosepa was a Polynesian colony in Skull Valley settled in 1889. The colony disbanded by 1917. |
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A Magna-based Italian combo with Tomaso Angotti, Alfonso Cairo, and Filippo Notarianni (father of State History director Philip Notarianni ). |
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A women's band marches down Salt Lake City's Main Street in The Grand Army of the Republic parade on August 11, 1909. The Grand Army of the Republic was an organization of Union Army veterans of the Civil War; this band may have been part of a women's auxiliary. |
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The Stewart Orchestra hams it up at the Louvre Cafe which was in the Hotel Semloh on State Street and 2nd South (undated photo). |
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Prince Albert and His Quartet at La Conga Club, 1945. |
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Orchestra that played at the first reunion of the veterans of the Utah Indian wars in Ephraim, August 1-3, 1906. Among the members: Willie Larson, flute, Wilford Breinholt, drums, Geneva Anderson (Peterson), piano; Bert Christensen, cornet. Also note the costumed "Indians" who sang and danced with the orchestra. |
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Junior Musicians of America in 1938. |