A Tribute — and a Look Forward for Native Cultures in Utah

By Renée Leta This month, Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox declared November 2023 as Native American Heritage Month and November 3, 2023 as Indigenous Day. The declaration pays tribute to the Tribes’ rich ancestry and traditions, and calls for the advancement of Native American culture and opportunities. The state’s celebration draws on a 30-year-old national tradition. In 1990, U.S. President …

Preserving Utah history, One Headstone at a Time

By Renée Leta and Ellen Weist For the past decade, Amy Barry has overseen the state’s Cemeteries Program, now part of the Utah State Historic Preservation Office. She maintains the Cemeteries and Burials database, offers preservation workshops, and maintains an alphabetical list and map of all the cemeteries and burial sites throughout the state. She also oversees the state’s annual …

First meeting of the Utah America250 Commission, launched by Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox.

Happy Birthday, America — with Utah Style

Gov. Spencer J. Cox says he has been anticipating celebrating America’s 250th Birthday as long as he’s been alive. After all, his wife was a bicentennial baby, whose parents gave her “a good bicentennial name: Abigail.” At the launch of Utah’s America250 Commission on June 6, the governor applauded the regional projects that were built across Utah in 1976. Then …

Historian Leo Lyman’s Deep Dive into the “Sausage Making” of Utah’s Statehood

A SPECIAL TWO PART PODCAST SERIES to kick-off Utah’s 125th statehood anniversary celebration coming up on January 04, 2021. Recording Dates: 06.18.2020 and 06.22.2020 (Speak Your Piece podcast, Season 2, Episode 3, parts 1 & 2). Above Photograph Caption: Matilda “Tillie” Houtz, posing as a Utah’s Statehood Queen with her shield stating “Union For Ever [sic],” 1896; George E. Anderson …

Salt Lake City Pride Parade

Speaking About Utah’s LGBTQ+ History

With the fifty-first anniversary of the NYC Stonewall Riots (June 28th to July 3rd) ending just before the 4th of July weekend, this Speak Your Piece podcast by Senior Public Historian Brad Westwood with historian J. Seth Anderson offers some contemporary Utah history.

Brad Westwood, Rev. France Davis, "Speak Your Piece"

Reverend France Davis, a Utah Faith and Civil Rights Leader for over Fifty Years

03.02.2020 (Episode 13) Reverend France A. Davis, pastor emeritus, of the Salt Lake City’s Calvary Baptist Church, served his congregation as its pastor for over 45 years. In late December 2019 he stepped down. Still active in his congregation, still serving, he remains an influencer for his faith, and for Utah’s Civil Rights efforts, and for the state’s growing African-American …

The damaged Sears Mansion in Salt Lake.

Tax Credits Could Help Repair Historic Homes

The owners of historic homes damaged in the 5.7 magnitude earthquake that shook the Salt Lake valley on March 18 might qualify for a tax credit for some of the repair costs.

WORLD WAR II MEMORIALS AND HISTORICAL SITES

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 …

Raising the Curtain on Utah’s historic theaters

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 …