Author Archive
May Announcement for the Utah Westerners
EMIGRANTS ON THE CENTRAL OVERLAND TRAIL
JESS PETERSEN
Western writers and historians have paid a lot of attention to emigrant wagon roads like the Mormon Trail, the Salt Lake Cutoff, and the California Trail. There would be few who are not at least somewhat familiar with the story of the Pony Express, that short-lived, but romantic experiment in transporting the mail across the western states. But how many know that the route the Pony Express followed through Utah and Nevada was also used by a significant number of California-bound covered wagon emigrants? Until recently little was known about this aspect of western history.
Several years ago, Utah Westerner James Hall began to look into the possibilities that emigrants had indeed used this route. He found more than twenty diaries written by individuals who had traveled west on the Central Overland Trail between 1859 and 1868. James turned over the material he uncovered to fellow Westerner Jess Petersen who has since found several more diaries and other sources of related information. Jess compiled and edited all this material which was recently published by The Arthur H. Clark Company as West From Salt Lake: Diaries from the Central Overland Trail. Jess will tell us how the book came about, the history of how the Central Overland Trail was opened, where the trail and some of its variations went, and some of the experiences of the emigrants who kept the diaries.
Jesse G. Petersen is a Utah native who was educated in the state and has spent most of his adult life in law enforcement, having served 24 years as Chief of the Tooele City Police Department. He has had a life-long interest in history, but it wasn’t until 1992 when the Lincoln Highway Association was organized that he actively participated in historical research. He went on to help Gregory Franzwa research and write two books on the Lincoln Highway and has served for many years as president and also treasurer of the Lincoln Highway Association. In 2008, his book, A Route for the Overland Stage: James H. Simpson’s 1859 Trail Across the Great Basin, was published by Utah State University Press. Jess is a member of OCTA and is currently working on a project to install Rail Post markers at various sites on the Central Overland Trail.
April Announcement for the Utah Westerners
CHIEF JOSEPH: GUARDIAN OF THE PEOPLE
CANDY MOULTON
In 1877 Nez Perce Chief Joseph, with more than a thousand men, women, and children, outraced a military force commanded by General Oliver O. Howard, in a desperate bid to remain free. The story of the Nez Perce people prior to those momentous events is one of adaptation and cooperation with encroaching settlers; and although Chief Joseph made his defining statement “From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever” at the Bears Paw Battlefield when he surrendered in October 1877, that was not the end of his fight for justice.
In her talk this month to the Utah Westerners, Candy Moulton will outline the full story of the Nez Perce band that followed Joseph. The journey begins in theWallowaValleyof northeasternOregon, crossesIdaho,Yellowstone National Park,Montana, and extends to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) before Joseph and his people ultimately return to theColumbiaBasin.
Candy Moulton is the author of fifteen books and many articles on Western history including Everyday Life Among American Indians from 1800 to 1900, Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the Wild West from 1840 to 1900, Roadside History of Wyoming, and Valentine T. McGillycuddy: Army Surgeon, Agent to the Sioux. Her biography, Chief Joseph: Guardian of the People, won the Spur Award from Western Writers of America. She has also written, produced, and been a re-enactor in several documentary films. She received a Spur and other awards for the documentary film, “In Pursuit of a Dream,” which she wrote and produced with Boston Productions, Inc., for the Oregon-California Trails Association. Moulton is also the Executive Director of Western Writers of America.
We are very fortunate to have Candy Moulton as our special guest speaker who is traveling a long distance from her home in Encampment, Wyoming, to be with us.
UW members David Bigler, Will Bagley and Rod Miller win 2012 Spur awards
Utah Westerners, David L. Bigler and Will Bagley, won the Western Writers of America 2012 Spur Award for Best Western Nonfiction Historical for the work ‘The Mormon Rebellion’ http://www.oupress.com/ECommerce/Book/Detail/1527/the%20mormon%20rebellion
Utah Westerner Rod Miller, won (two!) Western Writers of America 2012 Spur award for Best Western Short Fiction Story for the work ‘The Death of Delgado’ and again for Best Western Poem ‘Tabula Rasa’.
http://www.writerrodmiller.com/index.html
One of our speakers, Frederick H. Swanson, wn the Best Western Nonfiction Contemporary Spur for “The Bitteroot and Mr. Brandborg,” University of Utah Press, edited by Peter DeLafosse.
http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/upcat&CISOPTR=1771
A link to the other 2012 winners here: http://www.westernwriters.org/spur_award_history.htm#2012
March Announcement for the Utah Westerners
DOCUMENTINGENTING THE TRANSFORMATION
OF THE GOLDEN STATE:
MORMONS IN GOLD RUSH CALIFORNIA
MICHAEL LANDON
Mormons traveling to California in the late 1840s and during the 1850s did so for a number of reasons. While there, many Latter-day Saints recorded events that highlighted the sweeping changes that the state experienced after the discovery of gold. Their collective record provides a literary snapshot of California at the beginning of a remarkable transformation that would impact the entire nation. However, the documentary record of Mormons as observers of the historic changes taking place in California has been largely ignored by many historians engaged in the study of the state’s history.
Using examples primarily taken from surviving accounts left by “Gold Missionaries” who traveled to California in the fall of 1849, this presentation will explore the potential value of LDS documentary sources in describing, political, religious, social, and environmental changes occurring in California during the 1850s. Michael will also discuss possible reasons why Mormon records have missed the attention of both California and Utah historians and the impact of increasingly available digital resources on the future use of such records.
Long-time Utah Westerner, Michael Landon, holds degrees in history, political science, and public history. He is currently employed as an archivist in the LDS Church History Department and during his years there has devoted much of his time in acquiring documents significant to Mormon history, assisting on various projects, and providing reference services to patrons. He is a member of several historical, archival, and library associations. Michael is co-author with William Slaughter of Trail of Hope: The Story of the Mormon Trail and the editor of The Journals of George Q. Cannon, Volume 1: To California in ’49.
This will be a very timely presentation as we prepare for this year’s field trip to the gold fields of California.
February Announcement for the Utah Westerners
RAILROAD REDUX
SALT LAKE & UTAH RAILROAD: “THE OREM LINE”
JAMES D’ARC
With
BLAINE GALE
With the gleaming Front Runner trains running between Ogden and Salt Lake City, and the Utah County line slated for completion of the system within the next two years, it appears that Utah will soon enter the portal of modernity in intercity public mass transit. However, as you will see with your eyes on Tuesday, February 21, much of this was all done once before when there were no freeways and, in fact, virtually no paved roads in the rural regions of Salt Lake City and in most of Utah County.
The Salt Lake & Utah Railroad, incorporated in 1912, began running interurban trolleys betweenSalt Lake Cityand Payson, roughly along the current Union Pacific trackage, in 1914. Led by eastern businessman Walter C. Orem, what became known as the Orem Line was built to exploit the commercial possibilities ofUtahCountyfarmers as well as to move passengers. Sometimes referred to by passengers as the “Leaping Leena,” the cars swayed from side to side on the admittedly uneven track beds, but it afforded a heretofore unknown commute between the communities of Payson, Provo, American Fork, the agricultural area of the Orem bench and Salt Lake City.
The little known history of Utah’s first mass transit and commercial carrier will be unveiled Tuesday, February 21, by Utah Westerner James D’Arc, curator of BYU’s Motion Picture Archive, who discovered the sole surviving motion picture copy of “Electric Railroad Transportation in Utah” more than 30 years ago in a pile of film that was slated for disposal. In what may have been a promotional film made in 1930 for company salesmen to sell its services to commercial clients in Utah County, you will ride the trolley in downtown Provo, see the Onion Days celebration in Payson, and see the Conference Special trains arriving at the Interurban Depot in Salt Lake City where Abravanel Hall now stands as it was experienced the early years of the 20th century.
This will be an evening that you won’t forget as you travel by trolley car into Utah’s past and to the accompaniment of organist extraordinaire Blaine Gale, veteran performer who regularly accompanies silent film screenings at the Organ Loft in Salt Lake City. Jim will provide running commentary to the images shown on the screen and you will learn the fascinating history of this pioneering effort to bring Utahinto the 20th century andUtah products to the East Coast. Be sure to get your tickets early—for yourself and a guest! The trains are leaving at7:00 PM, Tuesday, February 21. Get on board and don’t be left at the station!
James D’Arc, Ph.D., is Senior Librarian at BYU’s Harold B. Lee Library where, for over 30 years, he has been curator of three specific areas at the L. Tom Perry Special Collections at Brigham Young University: the Arts & Communications Archives, for which he acquired the original collections of legendary producer-director Cecil B. DeMille, Howard Hawks, James Stewart, and many other notables from the film world; the founding curator of the BYU Film Music Archive and collections of several major film composers. In that capacity, he is also producer of 18 special edition CDs of original classic motion picture soundtracks from this rich collection; finally, he is the founding curator of the BYU Motion Picture Archive in which capacity he has been the director of the BYU Motion picture Archive Film Series. He has also taught for BYU’s Theatre & Media Arts and American Studies departments.
Dr. D’Arc is the author of When Hollywood Came to Town: A History of Moviemaking in Utah (published by Gibbs Smith and reviewed in Bench Press in September 2010). He has lectured on motion picture history internationally and has authored a number of articles on the image of Mormons in commercial motion pictures as well as on film directors Howard Hawks and Cecil B. DeMille. He also appears as an important resource inDVD documentaries that accompany classic motion pictures from several well-known entertainment companies.
Blaine Gale studied piano at age 7, but later fell in love with theater organ pipes and has thrilled audiences ever since by playing for silent films. For many years he has accompanied classic silent films on the 2400-pipe “Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ” at the Organ Loft’s annual series between September and May. Blaine is also a video producer, blending and mixing visual and music talents. He has successfully used his talents to promote and preserve live silent movie accompaniment as a true art form.
Bidwell-Bartleson Trail Tour
On Sat, 9 Oct 2010, you are invited to join the Crossroads Chapter of OCTA on the Bidwell-Bartleson 1841 wagon trail from Soda Springs, ID to Corinne, UT (west of Brigham City).
Meet at 8:30 AM, Sat, Oct 9, in Soda Springs, ID at the north side of the park (about 2½ to 3 hrs. from SLC).
$5.00 per car.
Bring a CB radio; buy lunch in Preston or bring a sack lunch.
RSVP: call or email Linda Turner by Oct. 4th to get on the list: 801-953-0370 lindat.crossroads@yahoo.com
The tour will be led by Roy Tea. There will be some mild gravel roads but mostly it will be a highway – smooth – EZ tour.
In 1841, Bidwell and Bartleson made the first wagon trail across Utah around the north side of the Great Salt Lake, down the east side of Pilot Peak Range, past several springs and through what later became Bidwell Pass and on to Big Springs in Nevada, where they abandoned all their remaining wagons and continued on to California riding and packing on their draft animals.
Hastings Pass Field Trip
Here’s a note from OCTA you might be interested in:
It’s time for Crossroads tovisit some of our old haunts. A tour is being led over Hastings Pass for those that have never seen it and those
that want to revisit it to see the changes. It should be a fun, relatively fast trip. Cost is $10.00 a car including one handout and refreshments.
Extra handouts will be available for $2.00 each. Don’t forget to bring your CBs, lunches and water.
If you are interested in going, please sign up at the BBQ OR contact
Linda Turner (801-953-0370, lindat.crossroads@yahoo.com) no later than Sunday September 12, 2010.
Our stops are planned to be:
A) 8:30 Donner-Reed Pioneer Museum [It will be open] (check-in and waiver signing etc) 90 North Cooley Grantsville, UT 84029
B) 9:30-10:00 Delle, UT (I-80, exit #70) Meet at the service station. (refreshments and convoy assembly)
C) Redlum Springs
D) Hastings Pass (lunch)
E) Grassy Knoll REST AREA
F) Grayback Hills
We should be through approximately 4:00 PM
Your publications
It occurs to us (the royal “we”) that it would be cool to have a record of Westerners’ new publications (as well as other achievements) noted on this blog.
Yes, it’s true that some names might be popping up incessantly, but that’s a risk we must take. With that in mind, please do send by comment or email any books of the past year or the future that should be noted.
Take note that we have two fine bookselling Utah Westerners (are there more that I’m not aware of?) ready to sell us any titles that catch our fancy: (Ken Sanders Fine Books and Benchmark Books — Curt Bench).
(They didn’t ask for that plug–honest.)
Congratulations, Bob Steensma!
We just learned today that Bob was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the South-Central Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. He was surprised with the honor at the Society’s annual meeting (held in Salt Lake this year). As many of us know, Bob is a scholar of great breadth–and a gentleman as well. His latest book is Wallace Stegner’s Salt Lake City.
The Utah Westerners are fortunate indeed to have people like him in our midst. Congrats, Bob!
July 2010 Meeting Announcement
See the announcement here: july 2010 announcement
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