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...]
Rafting the Yampa: A Libertarian Publisher is Exposed to the Beliefs, History and Ideology of Environmental Protectionists
“Okay,” I thought, “I’m going to be going down a river with people whose primary ideology I disagree with.” But then I reasoned, “maybe my point of view could provide an interesting story. Why should every story be about everyone being agreeable? I’ll go, I decided, be nice yet disagreeable, and completely honest.” So I went on a trip down the Yampa River with a group of … [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...]
Salt Lake City’s Main Street Displays Architectural Treasures
Downtown architecture first captured my imagination when I was able to participate in the grand re-opening of the former First Security Building on 4th South and Main Street after its restoration by Wasatch Property Management. The building had just been placed on the National Register of Historical Places. There were photos from the building's construction and opening in … [Read more...]
Mormon Economics in Early Utah
Utah is defined by two factors; natural beauty and Mormonism. No matter how the state evolves and changes, Mormonism was the reason for the founding of the state. After the Mormon pioneers were driven from Missouri and Illinois, they headed west, many on foot, to the deserts of what was then Mexico. Prophet Brigham Young saw a location that would be a gathering place for the … [Read more...]
Allll Aboard! Bamberger Railroad Connected SLC and Ogden
Boyd and Gail Thomas eloped in 1944. They took the train from Salt Lake to Ogden, and kept their marriage a secret for as long as they were able. Their means of transportation? The Bamberger Railroad. Bamberger Railroad started in 1891 with money from Simon Bamberger’s coal and mining operations in Utah. Originally called the Great Salt Lake and Hot Springs Railway, the … [Read more...]
Plum Alley: Chinatown was Downtown
It is easy to see what has been dubbed Salt Lake City’s Chinatown while driving down State Street in South Salt Lake. The shining red, gold and blue towering traditional Chinese archway marks the entrance to a collection of Chinese restaurants and a large Asian market. What is less recognizable is the location of Salt Lake City’s original Chinatown which was established in … [Read more...]
Utah’s Hidden History
Welcome to our hidden history issue! You might have picked this magazine up thinking you would find only pages of summer patios and parties. Nope! That’s what you call a bait and switch. It’s a device commonly used in publishing. Better known in online publishing as “click bait”. But not quite, because in the center of this booklet you will find incredible restaurant patios. … [Read more...]
At Rest Far From Home: German Prisoners of War Were Killed After Germany Surrendered
At Fort Douglas Military Cemetery, dead warriors rest in peace. Amongst the quiet rows are nine white grave markers with distinctly German names: Otto Bross … Ernst Fuchs … Gottfried Gagg ... They all have the same date of death—July 8, 1945. This is no coincidence. For the past seven decades these weathered tombstones have borne silent witness to a war crime committed in … [Read more...]
#MeToo Pioneer Style
Stories of sexual assault, harassment and misconduct by politicians and people of influence seem to permeate the headlines with alarming increase. Unfortunately, many stories of this nature could almost be written on a template where only the names of the perpetrator and victims change. Consider the story of John W. Dawson, Utah’s third Territorial Governor. Although, it took … [Read more...]