Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Stories”
During the next year, Utahns and the nation as a whole will be remembering and recognizing the 75th anniversary for the end of World War II (1939-1945). — By Brad Westwood, Senior Public Historian May 8, 2020 will be the anniversary date for the Allies (Great Britain, USA, France and Russia) victory in Europe over the Axis Powers: Italy, Germany …
By Laurel Cannon AlderAdditional reporting by Tracy Hansford When movie theaters popped up on main streets across America in the early 1900s, they opened the window to the world. Children spent Saturday mornings watching cartoons and short films, while adults caught a newsreel before the feature began. My grandparents used to host dinner parties and get dressed up before going …
By Michelle James | Illustrations by Kerry Shaw Visiting the Golden Spike National Historic Park is a great way to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the meeting of the Union and Central Pacific railroads. It’s also a great launch pad for an exploration of Utah’s dynamic railroad history, which can include historic depots, exhibits of old streetcars, firsthand looks at …
With sly wit, Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal has been commenting on social media throughout the year she was researching and writing “West,” a book-length poem about the Transcontinental Railroad. Jan. 20, 2018: “This week has been a series of some of the odder requests/assignments: writing for the Journal of Military History, poem solicitation for pamphlet on spiritual practices, a …
Above Image: Mrs Strobridge entertaining guest in her railroad car, circa 1868, Alfred A. Hart, photographer. Courtesy of Stanford University Libraries. Few women were present during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. This because of wilderness conditions, 19th-century gender roles and biases, economic forces, and state laws that prohibited or discouraged women and children from immigrating. The women and children …
On July 1, 1862 after decades of US congressional debate and disagreement on a Transcontinental Railroad and an appropriate route the road should take, President Lincoln brought the debate to a close and brought the enterprise to life, all with a stroke of his pen. On July 1, 1862, one year into America’s bloody Civil War, President Lincoln signed into …
Max Chang likes to joke — but he’s serious, too — about his claim as the state’s first Taiwanese-Utah native. He was born just a few months after his parents moved to Salt Lake City in 1969. In seventh-grade history class at Churchill Junior High, Chang learned about the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad at Utah’s Promontory Summit in 1869. …
With every viewing, the range of artworks keeps surprising me in “Transcontinental: People, Place, Impact,” the new Rio Gallery exhibition. By range, I’m referring to such contrasts as the printed stories and creative railroad interactivity of Stefanie Dykes and Amie Tullius’ well-travelled “Train Tracts,” paired with Gregg Deal’s “The Divinity of Inanimate Objects Omit their Sins,” a vivid collage painting …
It may have been the “Year of the Train” and tax reform for the Utah Legislature, but they also found the time (and money) to begin a significant change to cultural funding, push forward construction of a storage solution for the artifact and arts collections, and even add a seventh division to the Department of Heritage & Arts. Overall, the …
In the wake of the horrific attack at a New Zealand mosque, Governor Gary R. Herbert has called for all Utahns to rally around their Muslim neighbors. “We do not tolerate hatred in our communities,” Gov. Herbert said in his statement on Friday. “During this time of pain and mourning, I hope all Utahns will reach out in love to …
Cultural organizations throughout Utah will receive a nearly six-fold increase in funding support under the budget proposed by Gov. Gary Herbert on Dec. 6. In his budget proposal for fiscal year 2020, Herbert has included $6 million for grants that will go to arts organizations, museums, and other cultural groups. The funding anchors his focus on elevating the quality of …