In post-prohibition Utah, there had not been a brewery since the original Fisher Brewing Co. closed in the 1960s. That is, until Greg Schirf came to the Beehive State. After graduating from Wisconsin’s Marquette University with philosophy and journalism majors and minors, respectively, and still only 21 years old, Greg Schirf hit the road, literally. He hitchhiked from … [Read more...]
Search Results for: pioneers
Trek reenacts arrival of first Utah Mormon pioneers
Walking in the footsteps of Utah Mormon pioneers—covered wagons not included On July 22, 1847, after traversing hundreds of difficult miles, a determined group of Mormon pioneers guided the first covered wagons into the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Pulled by weary oxen, they rolled ponderously down the rocky escarpments of Emigration Canyon to what is now called First … [Read more...]
Power to the People: How Enterprising Mormon Pioneers Electrified Utah
When the Mormon pioneers arrived in Utah they found an inhospitable desert. A few decades later, Utah was a major transportation hub with flourishing communities and electric lights illuminating orderly streets and fruit trees. So how did these destitute refugees create a prosperous, modern society in a matter of years? You can get some insight into this phenomenon by … [Read more...]
Cache Valley Canals: Early Pioneers Worked for Their Water
In the spring of 1860 Logan City’s early settlers got to work digging their first major canal. The season before they managed to grow food by hand-digging irrigation trenches on individual lots. But to produce food on a scale necessary to support a whole community they needed to directly tap the mountain snow runoff. By mid-May, the completed Logan and Hyde Park Canal was … [Read more...]
How Ogden Trappers and Pioneers Celebrated Christmas
Beginning in the 1820s, mountain men were lured to northern Utah by promises of wealth in the lucrative beaver pelt trade. Frontier trappers were the first inhabitants who kept records of events in the Ogden Valley. This was before there were trails through the mountains. The beauty of the wilderness was immaculate, but there was hardness and danger in that beauty. The … [Read more...]
Iosepa: Why Hawaiian Mormon Pioneers Were Evicted
Skull Valley, UT— Just the name portrays a Valley-of-the-Damned-image: desolate, remote. It is mostly accurate. Skull Valley is home to Dugway Proving Grounds, where biological and chemical weapons are tested for “mostly training purposes,” according to the military residents there. For most of Utah’s short history, a place beyond the Stansbury Range in Tooele County that has … [Read more...]
A Grand Heritage: Stories from the Moab Museum Oral History Archive
The Moab Museum’s new temporary exhibition, A Grand Heritage: Stories from the Oral History Archive, features first-person accounts from Moab’s pre-uranium history, built around oral histories between the late 1880s and the early 1920s. The exhibition will be on display through the end of April 2023. The exhibition is organized around several frequently asked questions in … [Read more...]
How Utah Breweries Survived Pandemic through Innovation
COVID-19 dominated headlines in March 2020. The hammer fell on the hospitality industry mid-month when Salt Lake County ordered bars and restaurants closed to dine-in customers. It wouldn’t be long before the rest of the state followed suit. The pandemic forced Utah’s craft breweries to pivot. Creativity and innovation were no longer luxuries; they were now necessary for … [Read more...]
UNIQUELY DELICIOUS A Visit to Deer Creek’s Lakehouse Restaurant & Bar
It goes without saying that Utah is a state blessed with natural beauty that can be mind-bending at times. And there are a handful of dining destinations that allow guests to be surrounded by such unique nature-made ambiance and beauty. Places like Hell’s Backbone Grill, Log Haven, La Caille, The Lodge at Blue Sky’s Yuta restaurant, The Tree Room at Sundance, Tuscany, The Yurt … [Read more...]
Pagan Christmas in Utah. What is it about?
The Christmas season has arrived and with it an onslaught of holiday trappings that can be neither ignored nor escaped. One might assume non-Christians would chafe at these annual intrusions, but Daniel Cureton, the president of the Pagan Society, just has the same gripe as most everybody ― it starts too early. "If they had kept it to December it would be … [Read more...]