Chinese Americans on Plum Alley and on the West Side

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Twenty-ThreeBy Brad Westwood Above photo caption: Based on information provided on a Salt Lake Tribune folder, the above image was described simply as the “Yee Family, Plum Alley.” What we know for certain is that the image was taken on January 9, 1946, by Chinese American Tribune photographer Ray King. The photo backdrop is …

Sojourners to the Mormon West: Historian Michael Homer on Seeing Mormonism and Utah through European Eyes

Date: August 2, 2021 (Season 3, Episode 9; 01:03:32 minutes). Click here for the BuzzSprout version of this Speak Your Piece episode. The above illustration is of Great Salt Lake City’s South Temple Street. Looking eastward to the foothills, It shows what was, and is now, the most famous street in Utah, visited by nearly all sojourners to Salt Lake …

Utah’s National History Day

Date: 08.09.2021 (Season 3, Episode 10; 54:13) Click here for the BuzzSprout versions of this Speak Your Piece Episode. The above image is a screen capture of Camellia and Acacia Yuan’s Utah History Day’s video, Helen Foster Snow: The Bridge Connecting the U.S. and China. Are you interested in other episodes of Speak Your Piece? Click here for more episodes. …

Latinos/as and Salt Lake City’s West Side: Part One

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Twenty-EightBy Brad Westwood, Cassandra Clark and Catherine Aviles Above photo caption: Two men accompany “Señorita Chicana 1971” (Miss Chicana 1971) at “Adelante [Ahead!]: A Plan for Action Conference,” held on October 29-30, 1971, in the Salt Palace. Elio Rios from Puerto Rico (left) is the only individual identified in this image. This gathering was …

Bagley on the Value of History (reissued)

Date: November 4, 2019 (Season 1, Episode 1; 35:31). Click here for the Buzz Sprout version of this episode. The photo montage is courtesy of Will Bagley’s pubisher. Are you interested in other episodes of Speak Your Piece? Click here for more episodes. PODCAST CONTENT: Will Bagley was my first guest on this podcast, recorded on November 4, 2019. I …

Japanese Americans on the West Side

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Twenty-SevenBy Brad Westwood and Cassandra Clark During the late nineteenth century, Japanese American immigrants arrived in Utah seeking employment opportunities. Initially, many worked for railroad companies that previously employed Chinese immigrants. Many Japanese Americans made their mark by opening businesses, worshiping in their temples and churches, and participating in Utah’s civic life. Japanese migrants, …

“We’ll Sing and We’ll Shout:” The Life of W. W. Phelps with LDS Historian Bruce Van Orden

Date June 7, 2021 (Season 3, Episode 3: 57:47 minutes). Click here to go to the BuzzSprout version of this Speak Your Piece Episode. The above photograph is of W. W. Phelps, as he appeared in the early 1850s; courtesy of Dr. Bruce Van Orden. Podcast Content: Drawing on decades of research and analysis, Dr. Bruce Van Orden offers the …

“MY LIFE IN [1950’S] CARBON COUNTY [UTAH]:” A CONVERSATION WITH DR. RONALD G. WATT

Date: March 15, 2021 (Season 2, Episode 15; 76:00 minutes). Click here for the BuzzSprout version of this Speak Your Piece episode. The above photograph is of Ron Watt as a young man in front of his Carbon County home, circa 1955. Courtesy of Ron Watt. Podcast Content: In this episode of Speak Your Piece, historian Ron Watt describes his latest …

Salt Lake City’s LGBTQ+ Communities and the Pioneer Park Neighborhood

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Thirty-Twoby Brad Westwood Although the LGBTQ+ community had many prior informal political and social gathering spots elsewhere in Salt Lake City, a number of bars and taverns located in the Pioneer Park neighborhood served as a place to gather for Salt Lake City’s emerging LGBTQ+ communities. In 1970, just one year after New York …

Introducing Salt Lake West Side Stories

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post OneBy Brad Westwood Welcome to this serialized and illustrated history of Salt Lake City’s old west side. This blog consists of over thirty posts and scores of images, all presented online to tell the story of a very unique area of downtown Salt Lake City. This series consists of short, quick-to-read segments. Expect to …

Utah’s Story: 150 Years of Photography from the Salt Lake Tribune

April 12, 2021 (Season 2, Episode 18: 53:46 minutes). Click here for the BuzzSprout version of this Speak Your Piece episode. Image above is the cover of Utah’s Story. Courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune.  Podcast Content: In celebration of the Salt Lake Tribune’s 150th anniversary (1870-2020) as continuous newspaper published in Salt Lake City the “Trib” published in 2020, …