The West Side’s Pioneer Park Amenities

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Thirtyby Brad Westwood and Cassandra Clark The Pioneer Park neighborhood offered several amenities to Utah residents and tourists alike. After 1909, the park had one wading pool for women and one for men. It also had a framed bandstand that hosted musical performances on weekends. A craft house also welcomed the young and old …

Panelists discussing mascots on Trib Talk

Indian Affairs Director Discusses Mascots

The Salt Lake Tribune’s weekly “Trib Talk” took a closer look at the issues surrounding American Indian mascots. The panel included Dustin Jansen, the director of the Division of Indian Affairs.

Salt Lake Telegram 1918 Flu

Life and Death in the Cache County During the Spanish Flu

In episode 14 of the “Speak Your Piece” podcast, Senior Historian Brad Westwood interviews Dr. Holly George about her work on topics such as theater in Washington state and the history of the Spanish Flu. Perhaps the most poignant part of the interview — as well as the most timely — is when Dr. George talks about the death of …

Code Your Principles

Engineers help students puzzle out escape plans in a logic challenge inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. By Ellen Fagg Weist “We cannot walk alone.” That message from Martin Luther King Jr. was emblazoned on the 7th- and 8th-graders’ T-shirts, the same game-day T-shirts the Utah Jazz players would be wearing hours later. Introduce yourself, Emma E. Houston instructed some …

Makerspaces: A Tale of Two Libraries Systems

WASHINGTON COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM A new wing is being designed to house a maker space for the Washington City library, says Joel Turner, Washington County library director. That space will include audio-visual equipment to record podcasts and a green screen to film movies. The county has been building creative spaces over the past four years through a partnership with the …

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.

Wear A Face Covering in Public

While it’s not required statewide, health officials and state leaders are urging everyone to wear a cloth face covering to protect themselves and people around them when out in public places. It is especially important to be mindful for the sake of high-risk individuals who have compromised immune systems or are of advanced age. Healthy people, including children, can be …

Eight Themes Offered

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post ThreeBy Brad Westwood Historical themes allow us to understand the past by drawing connections to larger events and historical contexts. Weaved together in this serial history blog are eight recurring themes. We define them here. One theme that is evident throughout the series is “homeland.” Throughout Utah’s history, many people have considered the Salt …

Cultural Organizations Receive Federal Assistance

Utah legislators have approved $9 million in federal relief dollars to assist cultural groups with activities that will help them recover from losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and encourage tourism.

Building Community Through Creative Spaces

Utah’s libraries and schools are investing in 21st-century technology to attract a new generation of problem solvers. By Ellen Fagg Weist In an old vault in a renovated bank building rests Minersville Library’s secret weapon: a new 3-D printer. “It gives our little library a little wow factor,” says librarian Shannon Terry. The rural Beaver County library (in a town …