Utah Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, Number 1, 2002

UTA H HISTORICA L QUARTERL Y (ISSN 0042-143X)

EDITORIA L STAF F

MAX J EVANS, Editor

STANFORD J LAYTON, Managing Editor

KRISTEN SMART ROGERS, Associate Editor

ALLAN KENT POWELL, Book Review Editor

ADVISOR Y BOAR D O F EDITOR S

NOEL A CARMACK, Hyrum, 2003

LEE ANN KREUTZER,Torrey, 2003

ROBERT S MCPHERSON, Blanding, 2004

MIRIAM B MURPHY, Murray, 2003

ANTONETTE CHAMBERS NOBLE, Cora,WY, 2002

JANET BURTON SEEGMILLER, Cedar City, 2002

JOHN SILLITO, Ogden, 2004

GARY TOPPING, Salt Lake City, 2002

RONALD G WATT, West Valley City, 2004

Utah Historical Quarterly was established in 1928 to publish articles, documents, and reviews contributing to knowledge of Utah history The Quarterly is published four times a year by the Utah State Historical Society, 300 Rio Grande, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 Phone (801) 533-3500 for membership and publications information

Members of the Society receive the Quarterly, Beehive History, Utah Preservation, and the bimonthly newsletter upon payment of the annual dues: individual, $20; institution, $20; student and senior citizen (age sixty-five or older), $15; sustaining, $35; patron, $50; business, $100.

Manuscripts submitted for publication should be double-spaced with endnotes Authors are encouraged to include a PC diskette with the submission. For additional information on requirements, contact the managing editor Articles and book reviews represent the views of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Utah State Historical Society

Periodicals postage is paid at Salt Lake City, Utah.

POSTMASTER: Send address change to Utah Historical Quarterly, 300 Rio Grande, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101

4 Utah Schools and the Japanese American Student Relocation Program By R

. Todd Welker

21 The Utah Writers' Project and Writing of Utah: A Guide to the State By Richard L

Saunders

39 Dorothea Lange's Portrait of Utah's Great Depression By James

R Swensen

63 Hecatomb at Castle Gate, Utah, March 8, 1924 By

Philip F. Notarianni

75 Senator Orval Hafen and the Transformation of Utah's Dixie By Douglas

D. Alder

92 BOO K REVIEWS

Morris A Shirts and Kathryn H Shirts A Trial Furnace: Southern Utah's Iron Mission.

Reviewed by Douglas D Alder

Samuel Nyal Henrie, ed Writings ofJohn D. Lee

Reviewed by Lawrence G Coates

William Wroth, ed. Ute Indian Arts and Culture: From Prehistory to the New Millennium.

Reviewed by Forrest S Cuch

Ronald W.Walker, David J.Whittaker, and James B.Allen. Mormon History.

Reviewed by Peter L Kraus

Arnold K. Garr, Donald Q. Cannon, Richard O. Cowan, eds. Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History.

Reviewed by David A. Hales

Jan Shipps Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons.

Reviewed by Newell G Bringhurst

Polly Steward, Steve Siporin, C.W Sullivan III, and Suzi Jones, eds Worldviews and the American West: The Life of the Place Itself.

Reviewed by George H Schoemaker

As this issue goes to press,Utah, in the thick of the Olympic Games,is trying to make good on the slogan coined for the occasion:"The world iswelcome here."The sentiment has great appeal;however,ifweplace itin ahistorical context we can see thatitissimplyonemoretrendinthestate'sevolvingrelationships between "insiders"and "outsiders." One example:During theJapanese American internment ofWorldWar II,the National Student Relocation Council askedcollegesaroundthecountry ifthey-wouldacceptstudentsofJapanese ancestry.OfUtah'sthreemajor colleges,twowelcomedtheNisei.The other saidno—andexpelledthosealreadyenrolled.Ourfirstarticleexplores these divergent decisions aswell as the students'experiences on campus and in Utah communities.

The"worldiswelcome"sloganispartofthetremendous efforts thathave goneintoimage-makinginpreparationfortheGames.Thisissuenext turns tohistoricalprocessesofimage-making.TheWriters'Project,afederal program that employed out-of-work writers and historians during the Great Depression,resultedinasetofstateguidebooks,including Utah: A Guide to the State. The guidewasmeant tomakeUtah attractivetotourists (andalso tomaketheWriters'Projectlookworthwhile) Butamostcompelling story liesinthepoliticsandbureaucratictanglesbehindthefinished book.

Also during the depression,Dorothea Lange came to Utah with her camera and an agenda.As our third article explains, her wellknown 1930s photos of Utah do not necessarily reflect reality; instead, she created them as propaganda tools to garner support for federalfarmreliefprograms

Juxtaposed with the Lange images,aphoto essay on the Castle Gate Mine explosion of 1924 offers opportunity for further reflection on the hypothesis that every photo reflects an agenda Today's viewer cannot know -whether the photographer had a political purpose in mind, but the images certainly make a forceful statementeventoday

Last,we turn to aman who took up alifelong crusade to transform St.George both inimage andin fact.OrvalHafen worked onmany fronts towardhisgoalofmakingadestinationtouristattractionoutofthisagriculturaltown.Although the image he heldin hismind and communicated to othersdidnotaccomplishthisfeatalone,itplantedvitalseeds

Now,for the Olympic Games and beyond,Utah organizations continue to tweak—or recast—public images. Future historians will have the opportunity to set the Games,with their catchy slogans,banners, media events,and more,in the larger context ofevolvingpublic relations.In the meantime,readers ofthisjournal mayfind itinterestingindeed to compare thePR.goalsandchallengesoftodaywiththoseofpastdecades.

OPPOSITE:Madge

ABOVE:Springdale

ONTHECOVER:

Young Nielson, Widtsoe postmistress, photographed by Dorothea Lange in 1936.

family harvesting peaches, photographed by Dorothea Lange in 1938.

1941publicity photo for Utah: A Guide to the State The caption reads, "Walter Frese of Hastings House, Gwen Nolan, United Airlines stewardess, and William Henry Jackson, 98 years of age, pioneer photographer, at New York City airport. First copy of 'Utah Guide' was transported by plane and presented to Governor Maw." Jackson had driven abull train to Salt Lake City in 1867.

Utah Schools and the Japanese American Student Relocation Program

By R TODD WELKER

Utah has been recognized asan important site for the study of JapaneseAmerican relocation duringWorldWar II.A number ofscholarly works document the state's role in the evacuation story.Prominent among these works arehistories ofTopaz and theJapaneseAmerican CitizensLeague (JACL).1

However, atleast one aspect ofUtah's evacuation role hasnot received theattentionitdeserves,thatoftheinvolvementofUtahuniversitiesin the JapaneseAmerican StudentRelocation Program.Atatimewhen relatively fewgroupssoughttohelptheJapanese,anumber ofcollegesand universitiestookpartinthisprogram,thepurpose ofwhich-wastoopenthe doors ofcollege campuses throughout the nation to assistNisei (second-generationJapaneseAmerican citizens) in continuingtheirhighereducation.Recognized asthe Students at the University of Utah first step in resettlingJapanese Americans Park Building during the 1940s.

1 See Leonard J Arrington, The Price of Prejudice (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1962); Sandra C Taylor, Jewel of the Desert: Japanese American Internment at Topaz (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993); Roger Daniels, Sandra C.Taylor, and Harry Kitano, eds., Japanese Americans: From Relocation to Redress (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1991); Elmer R Smith, "The Japanese in Utah," Utah Humanities Review 11 (April-July, 1948)

R.ToddWelker is a graduate student in history at Utah State University He would like to thank Brian Q Cannon for making him aware of this topic and critiquing early drafts

after incarceration in the relocation centers,the program played a crucial part in alleviatingthe evacuationblow.Given theprogram'simportance,it is only natural that we explore the involvement of Brigham Young University (BYU), the University of Utah (U of U), and Utah State University,thenknownasUtahStateAgriculturalCollege (USAC)

Surprisingly little has been published on the matter, and most of the availablematerial isconfusing Scholarly works,including those by Roger Daniels,LeonardArrington, and SandraTaylor,exhibit anumber of discrepancieswithregardtotheinvolvementoftheU ofU andUtah Statein student relocation, and in none of them isBYU even mentioned. 2 It becomes difficult, therefore, to trace Utah's contributions to this program basedonexistingaccounts.Infact,thereisaninterestingstorybehind each school's decision either to open or close its doors toJapanese American students.This study seeks to relate the circumstances behind those decisions

Atthesametime,thisessayexplorestheissueofUtah'sdistinctive treatment ofJapaneseAmericans duringWorldWar II.In his article "Utah's Ambiguous Reception:The Relocated Japanese Americans," Leonard Arrington argues that in some ways Utah distinguished itselffrom other statesbydemonstrating unusualfavor toward theJapanese duringthe war. On theotherhand,herecognized evidenceofstatewideprejudice,suggestingthatUtahwasno different thantherestofthenation.3 The experience of Utah schools in the Student Relocation Program helps to solidify Arrington's argument,for it too is tinged with ambiguity.In some ways, Utah universities showed extraordinary favor toward theJapanese,and in otherwaystheyreflectedtheprevailingprejudices

Thereislittleambiguity,however,behindthebeginningsoftheJapanese American Student Relocation Program itself. Soon after Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066,groups that included students, educators, religious organizations, and theJapanese American Citizens Leaguebegan meetingvoluntarily to discussthefate ofNisei college students.After a series of conventions, and with the backing of the War Department,they gained official recognition from the federal government as the National Student Relocation Council (later changed to National JapaneseAmericanStudentRelocation Council) Basictasksofthe council included raisingfunds for students,distributing inquiries so that potential studentsmight obtain FBIclearance (aprerequisite to acceptance),visiting

2 Daniels's book Concentration Camps: North America (Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing, 1981) notes that "the state universities of Utah. .expressed almost immediate willingness to admit [Japanese] students," suggesting that both the U of U and USAC cooperated with program officials from the outset Arrington, on the other hand, makes it clear in The Price of Prejudice that the USAC and U of U turned down all Nisei applications beginning in 1942 but then began accepting them "in the late stages of the war." Taylor asserts in Jewel of the Desert that the University of Utah opened its doors to the Nisei from the beginning, while "the president of Utah State University.. refused them admittance."

3 Leonard J Arrington, "Utah's Ambiguous Reception: The Relocated Japanese Americans," in Daniels et al., eds.,Japanese Americans.

relocation camps to encourage Nisei enrollment, and convincing inland institutions to open their doors The council received "no financial assistance whatever from the government eitherfor operatingexpensesor for scholarshipaidtothestudents."Allexpenses, including salaries,were paid by voluntary contributors.4

BrighamYoung University demonstrated immediate willingness to further the efforts of the relocation council.Compared to the U ofU and the USAC,ithad an easy time indecidingtoopenitsdoorstotheNisei.In fact,verylittle deliberation,ifany,appear to have been necessary.The few remaining records of direct correspondence between the student relocation council and the administration at BYU reveal the decisionmakingprocess On September21,1942,the university began receiving letters from the council, to which President Franklin S Harris immediately responded:"For many years we have had afewJapanese students here and we shall be glad to have any of theminthefuture who areproperly recommended."5 Helaterwrote,"Weacceptallthe relocation students who are recommended, and they can enter at any time."6 Such was the policy of BrighamYoung University from the beginning.

Brigham

In addition to influencing administrative policy,Harris played a direct role in aidingmany prospectiveJapaneseAmerican students From March to December 1942,extensive correspondence between Harris and Nisei studentsattestedtohispersonalinvolvement Inoneletter,hereceived not only anadmittance request but alsoapleafor additional assistance.Calvin Harada wrote to Harris from theTopazRelocation Center on November 24,"Beingwithoutfunds atthetime,canyou find me ajob sothat Imay attend college?Ihaveamother and sister;mymother would liketo work inProvo,roomandboard,andearnmytuition,andmysisterwouldlike to attendsecondaryhighschool.Canyoufindajobformymotheralso?"

6 Ibid.,fldrK.

Young University president Franklin S. Harris.

4 Robert W O'Brien, The College Nisei (Palo Alto: Pacific Books, 1949), 60-67 For another comprehensive study of the experiences of the Nisei participating in student relocation, see Gary Y Okihiro, Storied Lives:Japanese-American Students and World War II (Seattle: University ofWashington Press, 1999).

5 Franklin S. Harris papers, box 92, folder M-MC, Brigham Young University Archives, Provo, UT.

Harrisrespondedafewdayslater:

We would be able to find part-time work at the University for you and your sister, but it is doubtful if we would have work for your mother However, there is a good deal of work for women here in town In fact, just this morning a friend of ours called wondering where we could get a Japanese woman to help for a few days I think the better thing for you to do would be for you to come here, and then you can look around for your mother.7

PresidentHarrisdemonstrated a-willingnesstogobeyondthemere acceptance process He was concerned not only with the students' ability to attendBYUbutalsowiththeirhavingthemeanstocompletetheirstudies Helen Shiozawa,aJapaneseAmerican who attended BYU during the war years,recognized Harris's influence in opening the school's doors to the Nisei.As a student from 1942 through 1945, she remembered, "PresidentHarriswasparticularlyopentotheJapanese.Ididn'tknow [that] untilIgotthereandthenIfound outthattherehadbeensome comments made at the faculty meetings about what they -weregonna do—because otherschoolshadclosedthedoorstoanyJapaneseAmerican students—and hesaidourschooliswideopen.AndIthinkthatmadeabig difference."8

Not onlydidPresidentHarrisopenlyaccepttheNiseibutevidencealso suggeststhatthestudentsatBYU didthesame.DonBowen submitted an articletotheuniversitynewspaper-whereinhedeploredthe "short-sighted bigotry"ofPresidentAtkinsonoftheUniversityofArizona,whorefused to allowwhat he called"the enemy"to enroll in U ofA extension courses "Such an attitude,"Bowen argued, suggested that "we throw out both Christianity anddemocracy...andhatethosewithwhom weareforced to fight...and who arepurelybycircumstanceassociatedwith [theenemy] Formyself,"he concluded,"Iamproud andhappythatIamprivileged to be amember ofaninstitution where the rational mantle ofreason is not substitutedbytheroguishgarments ofblindemotion,wherewe welcome, not shun ourAmerican brothers oftheJapanese race."9 Although Bowen's article represented the opinion of only one student, his use of the term "-we"suggests that he sawhimselfasaspokesman on behalfofthe entire studentbody.The institution asawhole,inhisview,shouldbepraised for thewayithadreceivedJapaneseAmericansintheirtimeofneed.

George Funatake's personal experience atBYU confirms the positive student response.LivinginPortland when thewarbroke out,George and his entire family were consigned to the Minidoka relocation camp in southern Idaho In 1944heattendedBYU for oneyearbefore enlisting in

7 Ibid.,box91,fldrH

8 Helen Shiozawa, telephone interview with author, December 27, 1999, Ogden, Utah; notes in possession of author.

9 "Scribe Lambasts Arizona U President for Jap Stand," White and Blue, December 4, 1942 It is ironic that the article speaks of welcoming the Japanese but that the headline writer uses the discriminatory term "Jap" in the title. This usage seems to have been a common occurrence, and it demonstrates how kindness and prejudice did coexist

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

thearmy Although notamember oftheMormon faith,Funatake recalled goodtimes-whenhethoughtofhisshortstayattheLDS-owned university: There were a bunch of us in this professor's home This professor had rooms made in his basement, you know, partitioned off There were quite a few of us; there were. .dischargees and some going in like me, so we were a mixed group I don't know if that John Christiansen is still around, but he was a blind guy going to school and we took him up to that big "Y," you know, on the hill I can still remember that.10

When asked about hisBYUexperience, Funatake first thought ofthe times hehadspent with fellow students He seemed to have interacted quite naturally with those around him,especially -with those notof Japanese descent "There were afew [Japanese students] I remember there were acouple ofbrothers from the Oakland area...but I can't remember anyof them by name. I always associated not with the Japanese...so it felt normal to me."11 Funatake's easy acceptance into non-Japanese social circlessuggests that thestudents played arole in contributingtothesuccessoftheschool'sopendoorpolicy.

ThefacultyatBYU-wasalsopraisedforhavingtakenaspecialinterestin the Nisei.SeichiWatanabe arrived attheschoolin1942.Ofhistwoyears there,herecalledwith gratitude thepositiveroleoftheprofessors inshapinghisexperience:"Ihavetremendous respectforthemembers ofthe faculty Alloftheprofessors that Istudied under were excellent educators to begin with,andthey-werevery helpful tous.Ithink they realized that wewereinabadsituation,andIcouldfeelthattheyweretryingtobenice tous Ithinkthey understood."12

In the final analysis,theuniversity emerged asoneofthemost active participants in student relocation during theheart ofthewar.In1943, nearly fortyJapaneseAmerican students were enrolled,placing theschool behind only four other U.S.institutions with regard tooverall numbers.13 Furthermore,"agroup of300 U.S Army privates arrived attheschoolon July 1,1942to complete theArmy Specialization Training Program." On-campus military training could haveprovided theadministration with a"goodexcuse"tolimitorevendenyadmittancetotheJapanese,especially sincealackoffacility spacehadalreadycreatedproblems.14 Butthereisno evidence suggesting that these circumstances influenced the administration's posture toward theNisei, andeven ifthey were considered,the school never didmodify itspolicy ofunlimited enrollment forJapanese Americans.

Perhapsthemost obviousreasonwhyBYUresponded the-wayitdidto

10 George Funatake, telephone interview with author, December 27, 1999, Portland, Oregon; notes in possession of author

11 Ibid

12 Seichi Watanabe, telephone interview -with author, December 27, 1999, Hilo, Hawaii; notes in possession of author

13 O'Brien, The College Nisei, appendix.

"Ernest L.Wilkinson, ed., BrighamYoung University: The First One Hundred Years, 4 vols (Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1975), 2:392

the plight of the Nisei was the influence of BYU student photos in the 1944 President Harris Not only did he play a Banyan (BYU'syearbook,page directroleinestablishingadministrativepolicy 21y but he also became personally involved in helping the Nisei Even yearsbefore hispresidency,he had spent time in JapanrecruitingforBYU Asaresult,thefirststudentstoattendtheuniversity from outsideNorthAmericaweretwoyoungmenfromJapan.In addition, Harris made trips to theTopaz relocation center to help "solve various social and educational problems" and oversee the implementation of certain programs at the camp. 15 By personal example,he prepared the groundwhereBYU'sopendoorpolicycouldtakeroot.

Perhapsinanindirectway,theinfluence oftheChurchofJesusChrist of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon), which owned and operated the school,may have also contributed to BYU's positive reception. Leonard Arringtonnotesthat"thepreservationofpeculiar [Mormon]values caused theLatter-daySaintstoadmirenationsandpeopleswho,liketheJapanese, were attempting the same." Furthermore, "ties had been established between key Utah leaders and theJapanese people after the Mormons establishedaproselytingmissioninJapanin 1901."Infact,HeberJ.Grant, who led the first LDS mission toJapan,acted aspresident ofthe church duringWorldWarIIAdditionally,oneofthestate'smoreprominent politicalofficials atthe time,seniorU.S senatorElbertDThomas,wasaleader within the Mormon church and had served a church mission toJapan.16

Felice Kartchner

Home Town: Flagstaff, Arizona Major: Musk

Jack S Ka+o Home Town: Provo, Utah Major: Soils

Romola King Home Town: Provo Utah Mojor: Sociology

Virginia Knowlton 1 Home Town; Holtadav, Utah : Major: English

Benjamin S Kuraya Home Town: Honolulu Hawaii

Kathleen H Layton Home Town: Loyton Utah Major: Foods

15 Ernest L. Wilkinson and W. Cleon Skousen, Brigham Young University: A School of Destiny (Provo: BrighamYoung University Press, 1976), 254-55; White and Blue, May 1943.

16 Arrington, "Utah's Ambiguous Reception," 92—93

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Suchfactorsmayhaveaffected,forgood,theBYU environment

SeichiWatanabe and George Funatake, although not members of the LDSchurch,recognized theimportance oftheMormon influence "I have ahell ofalot ofrespect for the Mormon people,"Watanabe commented, "because they are allMormons over there...and Iwas treated very well." Similarly,Funatake remarked,"I got along great.And we werejust such a small group of guys... Yeah, alot of those guys were Mormon.. from southernUtahandfrom Idaho."17

But to refer to the LDS church as an unmitigated influence for good would be misleading Members of the Mormon community in Provo demonstrated open hostility toward theJapanese attimes.Helen Shiozawa recalled,"Some places wouldn't wait on you ifyou went shopping, and otherplacespeoplewould come out ofthebuildings and start calling you namesandthings. .andsoyoulearnedtoavoidthecity."Evenlocalleaders of the Mormon faith were sometimes cruel. During her senior year, Shiozawaandherhusbandexperiencedsuchcruelty first-hand:

We went to the ward [LDS church congregation] where I'd been going to church, this was not on the campus, and they told us that we lived in a different area now so we had to go to another area to church So we went there and the Bishop [ward leader] was waiting for us and refused us entry.... H e just met us and said you're not welcome here, and I knew why... He'd been warned by the other ward that I was coming So that ended our church affiliation until we left Provo.18

Suchepisodes,accordingtoShiozawa,werecommoninProvoatthe time. The university itself,however, seemed to be a haven for the Nisei In spite of occasional prejudices that surfaced within the community, most students felt very comfortable at BYU As Shiozawa recalled,"I had no prejudices facingme atschool....Theschoolwaswonderful! Oh,they [the people at BYU] were very good to me!""I'll tell you what," George Funatake remarked,"it was great!Because itwaswar time and all,I think thepopulation ofthestudentbody..wasreallyamixedbag But Ican tell you Ienjoyed it."SeichiWatanabe summed up hisBYU days:"They were wonderful! Excellent! Iwas treated very well... Imake asubstantial contributioneveryyearbecauseIfeelveryindebtedtoBYU."

LikeBYU,theUniversity ofUtah alsodecided to open itsdoors to the Nisei. On March 13, 1942,Leroy Cowles,president of the university, received aletter from the relocation council askingifstudents ofJapanese ancestrywouldbeadmitted.19 After some debate,Cowles andtheBoard of Regents drafted areply stating that "nothing had been done officially to prevent American-born Japanese students from registering at the University" and that "students who present transcripts of credit from

17 Watanabe and Funatake interviews

18 Shiozawa interview

"Board of Regents minutes, May 29, 1942, p 222, University of Utah Archives, Salt Lake City, in Jenny Nicholas, "Students and Soldiers: The University of Utah and World War II," unpublished essay in U of U archives

reputable institutions,together with recommendation asto their character and loyalty and who have sufficient money to pay their tuition and other expenses,will not be prohibitedfromregisteringhere."20

But theU ofU position wasnot without reservations Inthesameletter,Cowles spoke ofpossible"future restrictions"thatmight be applied to the campus area,due to the"very important military concentrations here." He continued:"Wedonot encourage [Niseistudents] to come aswe haveno way of determining what the future may bring It might happen that they would be requested to move onfrom here....We carryno responsibilityforwhatmaybedoneifthiswholearea isdeclared arestricted zone asisthe western coast."Healsospokeofhowtheuniversitywas"notinthepositionto furnish employment or free scholarships to such students,and they likewise willbesubjecttothenon-residentfee."21

Despiteadministrativeconcerns,applicationsfromtheNisei immediately begantopourinbythehundreds,andmanywereadmitted.Before the end of the year,the university had sixty-eight registeredJapanese Americans Theyhadalsoreceived270applicationsforwinterquarterandhad acceptedsixty-five.22 Infact,by 1943theUniversity ofUtahhadmore registered Nisei students than any other institution ofhigher learning in the nation Althoughtheadministrationwaslikelyunawareofitatthetime,the school wasthe onlyuniversityin theUnited Stateswith more than one hundred JapaneseAmericanstudentsinattendance,enrollmenthavingpeakedat 127 thatyear.23

Before the school reached its 1943 peak inJapaneseAmerican enrollment, however, some university officials began to grow alittle nervous, especially when problems over student housing arose.Toward the end of 1942,ElmerR Smith,professor ofanthropology andofficial advisorto the Nisei,notedthatanumber ofJapanesestudentslivedinboardinghouses or rentedroomsthatbelongedtolocalfamilies.Hefearedthattheareawould reach asaturation point if the number of Nisei students continued to increase.He reported to the board that "attitudes in the community, a

21 Ibid

23

University of Utah president Leroy Cowles.

20 Leroy E Cowles papers, accn no 23, box 1, fldr 33, University of Utah Archives, Salt Lake City, quoted in Mark Wiesenberg, "Japanese-American Students and the University of Utah" (1997), unpublished essay in U of U Archives

22 Board of Regents minutes, May 29,1942, quoted in Wiesenberg, "Japanese-American Students."

O'Brien, The College Nisei, appendix.

recentsurveyshowed,maybesoonofsuchnegativeproportionsastomake averylargenumber of[Nisei]studentsahindrancetotheirwelfare aswell as bringing various problems to a head at the University." Based on ProfessorSmith'srecommendations,theBoarddecidedtolimitthe number ofJapaneseAmericanstudentsto 150atanygiventime.24

Indeed,the Salt Lake community exhibited "negative attitudes" toward theJapaneseAmericanstudents.Localsspokeoutthroughthemediaandin letterstoPresident Cowles InMay 1942aneditorialinthe Utah Chronicle erroneously—and bigotedly—reported that Nisei transferees from out of state did not have to pay non-resident fees:"Dr Sproul declares that we oughttotakeJapanesestudentsfree ofcharge,whichisjustasifaman next doordemandedthatweleaveourgardengateopensothathecould dump his unwanted and unneeded material on our front lawn."The author concluded that "the University of Utah would be swamped byJapanese studentstakingadvantage ofthisfreeprogram.Why shouldthebadboy be givenaquarterafterhavingbeenspankedforhisbehavior[?]"25

Followingthearticle'spublication,rumorsconcerningtheNisei students proliferated. In an attempt to dispel false information, President Cowles answered mail,published articles,and delivered speeches To the Salt Lake Rotary Club in May of 1943,he asserted,"Rumors are to the effect that 350Japaneseareontheuniversity campusreceivingfree tuition The truth istherenoware 125personsofJapaneseancestryonthecampus.Some 25 arenativeUtahns."26 Then,in anarticleinthe Utah Chronicle, he defended theNiseibystatingthat"severalof[theJapanesestudents]are exceptionally brightandthe 125haveahighergeneralintelligencethantheaverageofall studentsattheUniversity."27 Thus,Cowlesdidmuchtotemperapotentially volatilesituation.

But the controversies surrounding the Nisei students at the U of U made up only asmallpart oftheir overall experience.Despite challenges, they gained wide acceptance into the university community In one way, the Nisei were considered among the most patriotic students on campus. They actively participated in war stamp and bond sales,for example, and sold more than their quota in the month of March 1943.In fact, they

24 Cowles papers, accn no 23, box 1, fldr 13, quoted in Nicholas, "Students and Soldiers." See also Douglas Hardy, "Caucasian Attitudes toward Japanese in Metropolitan Salt Lake City" (Master's thesis, University of Utah, 1946) Hardy studied under Elmer Smith, and the "recent survey" spoken of may be linked to the statistics cited in Hardy's thesis Statistics indicate that during the war years, the number of enrolled Nisei students at the U of U never did exceed 127. After 1943, as greater numbers of colleges and universities throughout the nation began to participate in the Student Relocation Program, the Nisei tended to spread out See O'Brien, The College Nisei, appendix

25 Utah Chronicle, May 7, 1942, quoted in Nicholas, "Students and Soldiers." Existing documents suggest that Cowles never "proposed" any kind of tuition waiver. His statement on page 11 makes it clear that, from the beginning, he and the board decided that "the Nisei would be subject to the non-resident fee." It appears that the author of this editorial based his remarks on false information

26 Salt Lake Tribune, May 26,1943, quoted in Wiesenberg, "Japanese-American Students."

27 Utah Chronicle, May 26, 1943, quoted in Nicholas, "Students and Soldiers." For a student response to local prejudice, see Utah Chronicle, May 14, 1942

purchased more bonds and stamps per studentthantheaveragenon-Japanese student.28

Other Nisei involved themselves in extracurricular activitiessuchassportingprograms One student in particular became quite popular as aplayer for the U of U's NCAA championship basketball team in 1944.WatMisaka occupied avery important position asastarting guard for the team He went on to become a firstround draft pick of the NewYork Knicks and the first Asian-Pacific AmericantoplayintheNBA.29

Other former JapaneseAmerican students testified of their acceptance into theuniversity environment Roy Ishihara enrolledfrom 1942to early 1945.He and most of his family escaped mass confinement and moved from LosAngeles to Salt Lake City during the few months of voluntary evacuation in February 1942.At the time of the move, he was a nineteen-year-old sophomore at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles. Having converted to theBaptist faith someyearsbefore,hewas majoring

28

in Nicholas

29 Ogden Standard Examiner, November 6,1999

University of Utah player Arnold Ferrin (22) passes the ball to teammate Wat Mikasa during a 1944 NCAA tournament game against Dartmouth at Madison Square Garden.

Leroy E Cowles, University of Utah and World War II (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1949), quoted

inspeechandEnglish,withplanstoattendaseminarytobecome aminister Oftransferringschoolsherecalled,"TheUniversityofUtahwasone of the few universities atthat time that would accept those ofus ofJapanese background... Other universities said,'No,we don't wantJaps!'So I give themcredit.TherewerealotofJapaneseAmericanswho attendedtheU of U atthat time."According to Ishihara,the university provided a comfortable environment, and theJapanese felt secure on campus.With regard to thetreatmentthatheandotherNiseistudentsreceived,Roy stated,"At the Universityitself,theywere open.Ididn'thaveone incident of discriminationordiscourtesy....Theywelcomed usasstudents.Infact,theywent out oftheirwaytobefriendly tous."30

Kazuo Sato shared asimilar view.The Sato family had been long-time residentsofOgden,Utah Inthelate1930sSatoleft thestateandbeganhis collegestudiesattheUniversity ofWashington inSeattle.Inanticipation of the danger ahead for the Nisei,andin an attempt to avoid forced evacuation,hedecidedtoreturntohishomestateandfinishhissenioryearatthe University of Utah early in 1942 Of the situation at the U of U he recalled,"In my caseitwas fine Igot alongpretty good There was no animosity,no real concerns at all."With only ayearleft to graduate, Sato was astudent at Utah through the first quarter of 1943.He received his bachelor's degree in engineering.Due to hisshort stayon campus,he did not remember many specific experiences,but he continually insisted that "[TheNisei]hadnoproblemsattheuniversity."31

There are specific reasons why the University of Utah became such a haven for the Nisei and one of the greatest contributors to the Student Relocation Program Inpart,the efforts ofboth studentsandfaculty made adifference. Ofthe few former Nisei studentsinterviewed for this article, notonecouldrecallevenamoment ofdiscrimination onthepartofeither group.Instead,they remembered how both students and faculty had gone outoftheirwaytoextendawelcome

Furthermore, as was the case at BYU, the LDS presence may have helped in creatinganopen environment.Even asamember ofthe Baptist community, Ishihara could not deny the LDS influence."My experience withtheU ofU wasrealpositive,"heremarked,"andIattributethisto the Mormon group;theywere very friendly. In fact,theywould saythat they knew what we were going through because their ancestors,the Mormons who came to Salt Lake City,they were discriminated against back in the Midwest."32

Butmore thananything,thesuccessoftheStudentRelocation Program andthepositiveNiseireception on campusresultedfrom theleadership of President Cowles and his fellow administrators From the moment the

' Roy Ishihara, telephone interview by author, December 27, 1999; notes in possession of author Kazuo Sato, telephone interview by author, December 27, 1999; notes in possession of author Ishihara interview

doors were opened, the university accepted large numbers ofJapanese American students and became the national leader in that regard during 1942 Then,when rumors andfalseinformation began to circulate around the community,President Cowles quicklycametothe defense ofJapanese Americanstudents.33

And yet, similar to the BYU students, the U'sJapanese American students encountered open hostility in the community.About ayear into his studies,Roy Ishihara and aBaptist youth group ofabout thirty Nisei weremakingtheirwaybackfrom aSundayafternoon outingto the Great SaltLakeThe return triptotown requiredthatthey"passthrough aradio station,"apparently an area of town that was regulated by the military Certain restrictions applied to the area,including acurfew that forbade those ofJapanese descent to go near the station after five o'clock in the evening. Conscious of the situation, the group left their outing in just enoughtimetomakeitthroughthezonebeforefiveo'clock However,on theway,accordingto Ishihara,"apolice officer approached usandsaid we willgiveyou an escortto SaltLake City....Wehadplenty oftime to get back,buthesaid,'No,wewillescortyou.'"Withthat,thegroup proceeded, ledby two officers "As we neared the radio station,"Ishihara continued, "the policemen stopped us in the middle of the restricted zone,and we waited there until past five o'clock...then they arrested us.Look in the headlines....Theysaid,'JapsArrestedintheCurfew Zone!'"Fortunately for the group,the state attorney general and SenatorThomas both "went to bat" for them, and they were released after spending one night injail

Outside ofthe university securityblanket,then,thingswere not so secure for the Nisei.The campus environment at the U ofU seemed to differ fromthecommunity,offering aworldapartfortheNisei,aworldinwhich theycouldfreelypursuetheirinterests

Giventhefact thatbothBYU andtheU ofU madesubstantial contributions to the Student Relocation Program,it issurprising to learn that Utah StateAgricultural College chose not to participate at all Due to a paucity of documents,it is difficult to understand all of the reasons and circumstances behind the school's decision to exclude the Nisei. One reasonmightbeconnectedwiththefactthat,assoonafterPearlHarboras thesecondweekofDecember 1941,thefederalgovernment informed the schoolthatitsfacilities would most likelybe utilizedfor military training

At theJanuary 1942board oftrustees meeting,the board gave authorization to "accept quotas of trainees from government agencies in various

33 Cowles and members of the board retrospectively recognized their contributions to student relocation as one of the highlights of their careers Such recognition can be seen in Cowles's treatment of the topic in his University of Utah and World War II and in the remarks of Sydney Angleman at Cowles's retirement dinner, when he praised the president and other administrators for their "freedom from prejudice" despite "severe criticism by the thoughtless, the prejudiced and the blind," quoted in Wiesenberg, "Japanese-American Students."

lines of national defense service."A few months later, the Navy Department and USAC negotiated anofficial contract wherebytheschoolagreedtoreceiveitsfirstgroup of100students"for the trainingof radiomen onoraboutMarch 16."34

It was in that context that Elmer G. Peterson,president of the college,began to receiverequestsfrom the Student Relocation Council Justafewdaysafter theMarch contractwasdrafted,thecouncilsenthim acopy of the same letter it had sent to President Cowles of the University of Utah, asking if students of Japanese descent would be acceptedattheinstitution.Beforerenderinga decision,President Peterson appealed to state officials. On March 23 Governor Maw responded that "no policy [had] asyet been adopted by Utah with respect to Japanese." He assured the president that the state "[would] not make recommendations as to whether the USAC should permit Japanese students ofAmerican parentage to register at gj| [the] school,"and concluded that "whatever [he] and the board decided in the matter [would]beacceptable."35

President Peterson took the issue to the board oftrustees.Afew dayslater,on March 28,Petersondrafted areplytothecouncil Henoted,"After careful consideration ofthismatter ourBoard ofTrustees decided,inview ofour heavy program of defense training. .it would not be advisable for us to accept suchstudentsatthistime."Thereplywasshortandtothepoint.And while Peterson expressed"great sympathy,"the decision to exclude the Nisei,he insisted,wasoneofpracticality.36

Becauseinformation from theboardminutesandthepresidential papers tellusnothingmore about theadministration's earlyresponse,we can only speculateastothecircumstancesbehindtheschool'sdecision Itseemsthat the principal concern for the administration wasthe military activities on campus Perhaps school officials viewed the Nisei presence as a threat to

34 Logan Herald, December 11, 1941; USAC board of trustees minutes, vol 7, January 24, March 28, 1942, Utah State University Archives, Logan, Utah

35 USAC board of trustees minutes, March 28, 1942.

36 Ibid.; Peterson to Relocation Council, April 3, 1942

Zik1 rCiii ,r,fc z !

Utah State Agricultural College president Elmer G. Peterson

nationalsecurityYetsimilarconcentrations ofmilitarypersonnelexisted on the campuses ofBYU and theU ofU,and those schools didnot deem it necessary to exclude the Nisei Maybe the administration anticipated increased militaryinvolvement inthefuture.But evenso,itseemsthat the beginningofthewarwouldhavebeenthebesttimefortheschoolto open its doors to as many Nisei aspossible.Such had been the approach of President Cowles and the administration atthe U ofU At first they took in asmany Nisei as they could; then, as circumstances developed, they founditadvisabletoatleastsetanenrollmentcap.

Assuming,however,thattheUSAC trulysympathizedwith theJapanese American students,how does one explain the administration's actions regardingthefew Nisei students alreadyinattendance atthetime ofPearl Harbor? Following U.S entry into the war,Peterson had released astatement advising students that itwasin their best interest to"continue their studiesuninterruptedly."37 Andyet,aroundthemonth ofMarch,mostlikely right after the board had established its policy with regard to Japanese American transfer students,the four or five Nisei then enrolled at the USACwereaskedtoleave.

SeichiWatanabewasofthesestudents HebeganhisstudiesatUtah State in 1941 and was approaching the end ofhisfreshman year atthe time of Pearl Harbor Although there had been talk ofon-campus changes before the year ended,he and about four otherJapaneseAmericans returned to school for the first quarter of 1942,logically following the president's advice to continue with their studies.Not long thereafter, each student received aletterfrom President Peterson statingthat,atthe completion of thecurrentterm,theywouldnolongerbewelcomedbacktotheschool.38

According toWatanabe,the request provided no explanation,and neither he nor any ofthe others sought one.In fact, throughout his life he assumed that the school's decision hadbeen the direct result ofamandate from the state."I didn't know,"he explained,"if Governor Maw decreed thatJapaneseAmericansnotbeallowedtoattendthestateinstitutions,orif it was the legislature."He further assumed that the same restrictions had been established attheU ofU "My understanding waswhen Iwas asked toleavethecollege,thatthesameappliedtoJapaneseAmerican studentsat the University ofUtah,so Ididn't try to contact the school."Seichi then attempted totraveleastto continue hisstudies,buthewasrefused aticket atthe Ogden railway station,and the stationmaster informed him that he couldnottraveleastwithout FBIclearance Ina"last-ditch effort,"he took the train from Ogden to Provo to inquire into the situation atBYU. He recalled,"President Harriswelcomed me with open arms Hisexact words 37 Logan Herald, December 11, 1941. 38 Watanabe interview

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

to me were,T hope you bring five hundred just like you; I will gladly acceptthemall.'"39

The reasonsbehind the decision toban enrolledJapaneseAmerican studentsareunclear Nothing intheminutes oftheboard orin the presidentialpapers suggestsanykind ofdiscussion ofthe matter.Watanabe testified thattheletterhereceivedhadbeenwrittenbyPresidentPeterson,but that did not mean Peterson was solely responsible for the decision. Moreover, thesituationreceivedno attentionfrom themedia EventheUSAC school newspaperfailedtoprovide coverage.

But the case was not yet closed Before the end of 1942, questions regardingtheUSAC policyresurfaced.On October 14,President Peterson receivedaletterfromJohn Provinse oftheWarRelocationAuthority, who wrote,"We arepleased to be able to inform you that your institution has been approved by both theWar and Navy Departments for purposes of studentrelocation.Thismeansthatyoumayproceedwith theadmission of Japanese-Americanstudentswho arenow atassembly centers orat relocation centers with the complete assurance that all necessary governmental sanction has been obtained."Apparently, the letter persuaded Peterson to reconsider the matter.He approached the board again and suggested that "itbethepolicyoftheCollegetoacceptthe [Provinse] recommendation." It seemed, for a time, that the school's doors would be opened to the Nisei.40

Butwhether ornot theadministration cameto anydefinite conclusions isdifficult to tell The minutes ofthe subsequent board meeting reflected no discussionoftheProvinseletteroroftheJapaneseAmerican studentsin general Infact,the Nisei question didnot appearin the board minutes at all throughout the remainder of the war.At the same time, attendance records continued to show that students ofJapanese background were not being accepted into the school.It seems the issuewas either forgotten or theboardminutesremained incomplete.

Only correspondence in thepresidentialpapers offers an explanation as towhy thepolicy remained unchanged On December 11,1942,Peterson receivedanotherletterfrom theWarRelocationAuthority:

This is to inform you that although the War Department gave its approval for [purposes of relocation of Japanese American students], on August 26, 1942, the institution has not been cleared by the Navy Department The misunderstanding arises from the fact that the name of this school was inadvertently included on a list of 259 approved institutions sent by this office to the National Student Relocation Council. We regret any inconvenience that this may have caused you. 41

40 E G Peterson papers, Record Group 3.1/6-2, box 204, fldr 8, Utah State University Archives

41 Ibid

39 Needless to say, Watanabe was shocked when he learned that the University of Utah had opened its doors to the Nisei from the outset "All these years I didn't know that," he exclaimed during an interview with the author "I would have gone to the U of U had I known that."

Althoughtheletteroffers apartialexplanationfortheunchanged policy, it does not explain why the issue apparently was not discussed by the board.Perhaps President Peterson had been made aware ofthe relocation council's "mistake"before receiving the above letter. Such knowledge would haverendered unnecessary the discussion oftheProvinseletter Or, perhaps theboard had made the decision to admit the Nisei,and the discussionwassimplyexcludedfrom theminutes.Whateverthecase,alack of availableinformation allowsforspeculationonly

Matters certainlybecame simplerfor the administration after it received the December letterfrom theWarDepartment.The navy,the same group with whom the school had negotiated its early contract,had the final say regarding the conditions on campus It became apparent in the following weeks exactly why the navy had intervened. InJanuary 1943 the school wasassigned"togiveacademictrainingtoandprovidehousingand feeding for one thousand Army Air Forces trainees."42 The military, therefore, increaseditsuseofUSAC facilities,negatingallchancesfor the institution toacceptNiseistudents.Theschooleventuallybecameoneofthirteen colleges in the western United States,and the only one in Utah,which was placed on agovernmental list ofinstitutions considered"important to the war effort"bytheWarDepartment.The schoolremained on thatlist until closetotheendofthewar.43

Thus,thestorybehindUtahState'sdecisiontocloseitsdoorsto collegebound Nisei is difficult to assess.The initial policy to bar Japanese American transfers is questionable.Moreover, the decision to expel those few Nisei students already enrolled at the school at the time of Pearl Harbor seemsto havebeen unnecessary anduncalledfor.Itmight be easy toplacetheburden ofresponsibilitysquarelyontheshoulders ofPresident Peterson andtheadministration.Butto dosowouldbeunfair,sincealack ofinformationrendersimpossibletheformulation ofanydefinite conclusions

The evidence suggeststhat theinstitutionwould haveaccepted students ofJapaneseancestryhadthenavynotintervened Indeed,thepresident had urged adoption ofthe recommendations setforth intheProvinse letter in hiscommunicationswith theboard Moreover,theschoolwent on to provide classesatthebranch collegeinCedar City (asmallcommunity in the southern part ofthestate),which they encouraged many Niseistudents to attend, especially those from theTopaz relocation camp.In aletter to Edward Marks inJanuary 1943,Peterson noted the final arrangements for initiating the program at the branch college and stated,"I regret that the main campus of Utah StateAgricultural College at Logan has not yet received Navy Department approval."44 It appears that Utah State was at

: Ibid

' Taylor, Price of Prejudice, 18 1E G Peterson papers, Record Group 3.1/6.2, box 204, fldr 8

leastonthepathtoopeningitsdoorstotheJapaneseAmerican students

Thus,the experiences ofBYU,the U ofU,and the USAC with regard to the Student Relocation Program offer some interesting insights into Utah's reception ofJapanese Americans duringWorldWar II.A unique world came tolife on the campuses ofBrighamYoungUniversity and the University of Utah.Among the most active program participants, both schools served as examples of the success of student relocation and its impact for good on the lives ofthousands ofJapaneseAmerican students.

Certain factors were important in creating afavorable atmosphere The influence ofreligion,inthiscaseMormonism,mayhavehelpedto generate anopen environment The friendly attitudesofstudentsandfaculty toward theNiseialsoplayedarole.Finally,thecourageandintegrityofthe administrations,particularlytheuniversitypresidents,wereespecially significant

Still,thevery different experience ofUtah StateAgricultural Collegeis equallyinsightful.Likemany institutions throughout the nation,itdid not open itsdoorsto the Nisei.Although the reasonsbehind that decision are unclear, it islikely that military considerations simply overrode all other factorsinshapinginstitutionalpolicyThelevelofdefense trainingon campus,asdictatedbythenavy,emergedasoneoftheschool'smost important concerns throughout the war—so important that even the existence ofa fewJapaneseAmericanstudentsoncampuswasconsidered threatening.

As Leonard Arrington noted, Utah's reception ofJapanese Americans duringWorldWar IIwasindeed ambiguous His assessment applies to the experiences of Utah schools.In some ways,they offered an exceptional environment wherein the Nisei could escapethe turmoil ofa hypocritical society;inothers,theysimplyreflectedtheharsh"realities"ofanationatwar.

The Utah Writers' Project and Writing of Utah: A Guide to the State

By RICHARD L SAUNDERS

The 1930sarealmostdefined bytheeconomic recovery programs oftheRooseveltadministration.Midwayintothenationalrecoveryprocess,in 1935,asliverofreliefwork wasbudgeted to put unemployed writers,researchers,and office workers into meaningful employment TheFederalWriters'Project (FWP) employedlessthan1 percent ofthe nation'spublic reliefrolls—and garnered criticism inversely proportionaltoitssizeTopoliticians,theFWPwasmerelyonemore strategytoputpeopleintopayingwork;anythingactuallyproducedwasaside benefit To those who actually led the work, however, it represented an opportunitytogenerateliterarymonumentsthatwouldstandalongside the parks,trails,and watercourse improvements built by other relief projects Drawing upon aEuropean tourist tradition,theBaedeker guidebooks,the FWP envisioned its crowning contribution

A u r j Utah Writers'Project director and to American culture as a series or guidebooks,theAmerican Guide Series,which Utah guide editor Dale Morgan would describe the country geographically, autographs a copy for Governor historically,andculturally1

Herbert Maw.

1 Jerre Mangione, The Dream and the DeahThe Federal Writers' Project, 1935—1943 (2d ed.; Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983), 46-49 The FWP also produced several regional and city guides, but the guides for the forty-eight states and the territories of Puerto Rico, Alaska, and Hawaii were the main focus The widespread criticism of the FWP in the conservative press is considered in detail in Mangione's book

Richard L Saunders is the curator of Special Collections at the University ofTennesee at Martin His most recent book is Printing in Deseret; currently he is at work on a biography of Dale Morgan

Utah's FWP director Maurice Howe at a pioneer grave near Independence Rock, c. 1937.

Despite protests from those in Utah opposed to public reliefwork of any sort,a central state office of the Federal Writers' Project was established in Ogden late in 1935.Maurice L.Howe, a graduate of the University of Utah and staff writer for the Ogden Standard Examiner, was recruited to establish and supervise twin divisions,theWriters'Project (WP) itselfandthe Historical Records Survey (HRS).2 TheWriters'Project waschargedwith descriptive writing and editorial work, while the Historical Records Survey was a documentary agency established to catalogue public and social records in thestate,suchasthecontentsofcountycourthousevaults.In 1936 national policysplittheHRS from theWP andestablishedtheHRS asan independent research and resources agency under Federal One, the overarching funding structure for relief projects. During its seven-year operation, the FWP inUtah researched and wrote histories ofthe U.S Forest Service in the state,ahistory of grazing, newspaper and magazine articles on local culture and history,radio programs,and all ofits own publicity materials and campaigns.Nevertheless,from 1935 until publication ofa guidebook

2 Howe began work in November 1935, but the appointment was not made official until the beginning of the next year; Robert Greenwell to Maurice L Howe, January 1, 1936, Dale L Morgan papers, Bancroft Library, microfilm reel 26, frame 1824 Hereafter, citations of the Morgan papers are made by reel and frame number of the 1989 microfilming, as "26:1824." Howe functionally directed both offices until 1939 Much of his correspondence as head of and consultant to the Utah project is now in Series 7 of the Dale L Morgan papers, as Morgan inherited Howe's correspondence at the latter's untimely death in 1945. These are found on reels 26-28. Other arts projects were established in Utah at the same time as the FWP, including the Theater Project, Art Project (which designed the covers for HR S publications), Sewing Project, and Music Project All fall beyond the scope of this article; none has been considered historically

in 1941,the primary goal of Utah's FWP (and its successor, the Utah Writers'Project) wasthecreation ofamanuscript fortheAmerican Guide Series

Asproject directorandeditor,MauriceHowefacedthe dauntingtask of generatingusableresearchfilesandbeginningtocompiletheguidebook at thesametimethatthenationaloffice wastryingfirsttodecideandthen to communicatewhattheWriters'Projectwoulddoandhowitswork should be done.Tomake areasonable beginning,Howe dispatched hispeople to work in several directions Some of his twenty- to thirty-member HRS staffbegan by generating survey forms for workers (usually no more than two in acounty;some counties hadno workers) to useininventories and descriptions of county records.Others began compiling bibliographies of publishedworksthat contained dataonspecific counties ortranscribing or abstractingsignificantworksanddividingthetranscriptsintotopicalfiles.

Almost as soon as the project office was established in Ogden, the Writers' Project staff set to work outlining potential sections of the guidebook.Within a month, half a dozen were completed and filed. Writing effort soon shifted toward expanding outlinesinto drafts The staff also began apreliminary page-length estimate and layout on the Utah guidebook In May 1936 they completed apage-makeup dummy and a full-scale outline allotting space for essaysand specifying the number and placement ofillustrations,and they dispatched these to the national office The dummy wasfollowed inJulybypreliminary drafts ofseveral sections fortheforthcoming volume.3

While work progressed on the narrative sections of the forthcoming guide,ahandful ofotherworkers were dispatched throughout the state to drivecountyroadsandhighwaysTheyrecordedmileagebetween intersections,listed sites ofhistoric or scenic value along roadways,noted driving conditions andresources atravelermight need,andweighed the merits of one route over another.Their reports, edited and presented neatly in sequence, eventually resulted in a detailed set of in-state road tours coveringeverynook andcranny ofthestateandoccupyingnearlyhalfthe completed guidebook.

TheWP staffwascomparatively smallin anyone state,but each project employed dozens ofpeople with awide range ofskills (and competence levels)who occasionally demonstrated the willtowork atcross purposes. 4 The writingprocesswashampered bythreemajor flawsforeseen by FWP officials atthe inception ofthe program:widely diverse abilities,interests, and writing styles of those employed; staff turnover; and the stylistic choppinessthatinevitablyresultedfrom thefirsttwoThe solutionto these

3 Outlines for "Manufacturing and Industry," "Transportation," and "Hotels" may be found in Morgan papers, 26:1796, 1802, 1811; "Prehistoric Inhabitants of Utah" was dispatched to Washington as early as June 10,1936; seeWPA papers,"Final Copy," 80, Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City (USHS)

4 Mangione, Dream and the Deal, chapter 4

problems had been to centralize the review and approval processes for anything intended for publication. Central review fostered stylistic coherence,but the turnaround for manuscripts sent to theWashington office becameachronicproblemalmostimmediately.Thedelayswere compoundedbydirectorHenryAlsberg'sdesiretohavethefinaleditorialapproval on everything the country produced.A guidebook section was first drafted, edited,corrected,andretypedatthestateoffice before carbonsweredistributed to outside reviewers and forwarded to the national office. Here, each sectionwasreviewed,editedforlanguage and theme,forwarded to director Alsbergforthesameprocess,andthenreturnedtothestate office—theoretically.In reality,because ofthe veritable avalanche ofmaterial pouring in from thestate offices,theWashington office became abottleneck for drafts atalldifferent stagesofapproval.Statematerialsriskedlosswithin the cogs ofbureaucracyandAlsberg'sfreneticallypacedorganizationalstyle.5

Through 1936 and halfway through 1937,the Ogden office forwarded draft chapterseastwardfor reviewand approvalasquicklyasthey could be written.But since fifty other states and territories and several cities were doingthe same,Utah'smaterial only addedto anunmanageable deluge of manuscripts.Being asmall western state,Utah did not rank high on the national priority list TheWashington stafflargely ignored its submissions, and drafts from Utah eventually eddied into the quiet backwaters of file drawers. Unaware of this,the FWP office staff back in Ogden busily continuedcompilingdata,organizingresearchfiles,anddrafting essays.

The desirefor process and stylisticsimilarity among the guideswas frustratedfurther bythetangle ofconflicting instructions,formats,outlines,and formsthatspunoutofthenational O&LCQ likeaspider'sweb Itwasquitepossible for astate office to submit achapter and have it returned "approved with minor corrections"in its first stage ofreview—and then to have the whole corrected draft rejected as unsuitable when it was resubmitted amonthlater Forinstance,oneparticularsetofUtah tourswas submittedinFebruary 1938.Themanuscriptlayuntouched intheDC.files untilAugust,whenitwasreturnedwithouteditorialcomment;then,thefollowingJanuary,itwasdiscardedasunacceptableatWashington'sinsistence.6

While Howe busied his staffin Utah,the first volume ofthe American Guide Serieswasissued.Itwasnot,ashadbeen planned,theWashington, D.C.,volume The Idaho FWP director,novelistVardisFisher,had ignored directives and regulations, written the text mostly himself, offered the manuscripttoacommercialpublisher (CaxtonPress),andgottenthe Idaho guideintoprint in early 1937.Thiswasnotmerely anissueoverwho was abletoreleasethesymbolicfirstbook Byfederallaw,government publica-

5 Mangione, Dream and the Deal, 13-14. Maurice Howe commented privately on Alsberg, calling him "a punk [i.e., poor] executive and marvelously evasive"; Maurice Howe to Darrell Greenwell, Morgan papers, 27:164.

6 Howe to Darrell Greenwell, August 25,1939, Morgan papers, 27:165

tions were to be printed by the Government Printing Office and distributed atnominal charge.Thisregulationhadalwaysbeenastickingpoint in the plans for theAmerican Guide Series.Fisher had avoided the issue by having the Idaho secretary ofstate sponsor publication ofthe guide After discussing it among the staff and tweaking FWP regulations to create a loophole,Alsberg and theWashington office instructed other projects to follow suit State offices were to find nominal public sponsors for the guidebooks from within the state.This move meant that the guidebooks would not be strictlyfederal reliefprojects,and thus they could avoid the federalprintingrestriction.7

Rather thanpitch stateguidebook manuscripts topublishers individually,asFisherhaddone,Alsberghitupon aplanfornationalpublishersto bid onstateguidemanuscripts grouped insmalllots.Inthisway,stateslike the Dakotaswouldhavethesameopportunities for qualitymanufacturing and national distribution that the NewYork or Massachusetts guides would. Utah's guidebook wound up,along with those from Arizona,Arkansas, California,Colorado,Louisiana,Mississippi,New Mexico,andTexas,in the handsofHastingsHouseofNewYork.8

InUtah,thesearchfor astatesponsor,apainful and drawn-out process, was the responsibility ofWriters' Project editor Charles Madsen, one of Howe'soriginaltour-writingcrewandthemanagerofdailyactivityin the WP office.Madsen presented the sponsorship plan to the Ogden and Salt LakeCitychambersofcommerce,receivingagooddealofexcited interest, butneitherbodywasinapositiontoadvancesponsorship money.He then approached the State Road Commission and the Utah State Historical Society,buttheirrefusalsalsocitedmoneyastheissue.Madseneven floated theideaofdistributingproduction costsamonglocalprinters and publishers,and he asked for a cost estimate from printer and amateur historian Charles Kelly at theWestern Printing Company "All feeling favorable to Guide,"noted aninternalpublishingreportfor early 1937,"but no funds." Potential distribution of the as-yet-unpublished guidebook was about as encouraging.Howepersonallywrotetoeverystoreinthestatethat carried books.Onlysixrespondedthattheywouldbeinterestedincarryingsucha volume.9

Atthe end ofJune 1938Maurice Howe wassummoned toWashington andappointed to the FederalWriters'Project centraleditorialstaff But he retained directorship of the Utah project, supervising the writing and editorial work by correspondence until June 1939. Howe was then reassigned,and Utah's HRS andWP offices became independent projects

7 Mangione, Dream and the Deal, 202-207, 220-22 The title page of the Idaho guide was dated 1936, but the volume was actually published the following year

8 Mangione, Dream and the Deal, 230—32.

9 "Publications Report," 1937, Morgan papers, 26:1861; Howe to Morgan, May 13, 1941, Morgan papers, 26:879

with separate management Law student Dee Bramwell was appointed to head the Utah HRS, and Charles Madsen became head of theWriters' Project Because of his personal interestintheresearch andactivitiesin Utah, Howe remained connected asan official (but unpaid)project consultantand advisor.10

Utah's leadership change was symptomatic of the recurring challenge that plagued research and writing staffs nationwide. Since theWriters'Project wasareliefprogram,turnover in theproject staffs was steady,evenamong themembers not on relief,dueboth to migration into better paying private-sector jobs and to regulations limiting the time a workerwasallowed toremaininareliefposition.Beyond afew key "noncertified" positions (hirees not on work relief, some of whom had part-time appointments) both the HRS andWP were required toput into serviceanyonewhowassentthem—notalwaystothebesteffect.The Utah project faced aspecific challenge in Howe's replacement Charles Madsen hadbeeninvolvedwiththeforthcoming guidealmostsincethe beginning, yetwith the loosening ofHowe's direction,work on the Utah guidebook ground quickly intolow gear.Madsen waswell-respected for hisability to create the tours that would go into the guide,but asan administrator he cloaked himselfand entangled hisstaffinpetty office politicsWittingly or unwittingly, Madsen played staff members against each other, creating an atmosphere in which it was difficult for workers to trust each other

Tour writer and Utah guide editor

Charles Madsen, on the left, at the W-Bar-L Ranch, between Mexican Hat and Bluff, San Juan County, c 1936. Also in the photo, from left to right, are Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Lee, Robert Clark Tyler, and Buck Lee.

10Robert Slover, Circular Letter no 7, June 2, 1939, Morgan papers, 27:64; Charles Madsen to Hugh O'NeilJuly 2, 1938, Morgan papers, 26:1988

sufficiently todraft,critique,andeditworkproductively.11 Similar situations thatfrustratedWP workinotherlocationswereaddressedfrom the central office,but,intent onpushingguidebooks tocompletion inotherstates,the centralFWPoffice seemednottonoticetheseissuesin Utah.

Bythefallof1938,many ofthe stateguideswere atthe manufacturing stage.The national office atlastrealized thatitshouldbe concerned about theUtahvolume,andtheregionalandstatesupervisorswerefinally willing to admitthat,despitetwo and ahalfyearsofwork,littlehad actually been accomplished.To stimulate Utah's writing process (and evidently unaware of the drafts already buried in their own files), avisiting member of the national staffsolicitedVardis Fisher,head ofthe IdahoWriters'Project, to pushoutanacceptableguidebookmanuscriptforUtah.12

InWashington, Maurice Howe forcibly pried from the grip of the national office the material that Utah's project had submitted to date and returned it to Salt Lake City.Much ofit had been "in review"for more than ayearandwasstillin editoriallimbo.VardisFisher made atrip from BoisetoSaltLakeCityinApril 1939tofindnear-chaosamongthe assembled drafts.The first batch oftours and descriptive essayshe discovered to be incomplete Most had notes like "See Madsen for this material" and "Thistobeaddedlater"sprinkledliberallythroughoutthepages.Checking randomly asecond,third,and fourth batch,he discovered that incompletions were not limited to discrete sections of the drafts;most or all were incomplete and,with isolated exceptions,inno condition tobe edited for publishablecopy.13

Several months later,in mid-August, the national reviewer, a woman cited only as"Mrs Isham,"again cameWest unannounced and demanded from Fisheranassessment oftheUtahproject.Hewasnot complimentary. Yes,draftswerestillincomplete,buttheeditor'scooperationhadbeen difficult for him to secure.Having worked with the Utah essays since spring andhavingbeen in the Utah offices for severalweeks,Fisherlaid primary responsibility for Utah'slack ofheadway squarely on state editor Madsen, who had regarded Fisher's appointment as apersonal affront "I do not think it reasonable to expect even an efficient staff here to get the Utah book ready before the first of the year,"Fisher reported."There's simply too much tobe doneyet.Toomuch copyisintherough."He was giving up.Both the FWP official andstateWPA administratorDarrell Greenwell, whohaddislikedtheWriters'Projectfromthefirst,askedifFisherknew of

"See statements about Madsen by office workers in Morgan papers, 27:1100-112 Comments on Madsen's feuds are discussed in Fisher to Howe, August 17, 1939, 27:146; Fisher to Howe, August 20, 1939, 27:152; Howe to Greenwell, August 25, 1939, 27:165; Fisher to Greenwell, August 29, 1939, 27:169; Fisher to Howe, October 18,1938, 26:2057

12 Mangione, Dream and the Deal, 201-208; Dee Bramwell to Dale L Morgan, August 15, 1939, Morgan papers, 27:142;Vardis Fisher to Howe and Fisher to Henry Alsberg, October 18, 1938, Morgan papers, 26: 2057, 2052; Salt Lake Tribune, August 30,1939

13 Fisher to Howe, August 17, 1939, Morgan papers, 27:146

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

someonewhowouldbeabetterdirector.He didnot.14

Inaprivateletter to Howe written afew dayslater,Fisherreported the rounds of intrigues and posturing ambitions that plagued the Utah WP office andasked,"Doyouknow ofanyonewho couldwhip thebook out?

Firstthingyouknow G[reenwell] willbeclosingthisproject."15 Greenwell, knowing that Howe himself was caught in the flux of a shakeup in Washington and the dismissal of FederalWriters' Project head Henry Alsberg, also wrote to Howe suggesting he return to Salt Lake City to againheadtheUtahproject.Howe respondedwith encouragement, noting that Fisher could write well but tended to overreact Admittedly, Madsen wasnot acareful editor,but,Howe told Greenwell,he had earned asolid reputation with the national office for consistently generating good tour materials.Hehaddoneagreatdealofworkandshouldbeallowedto finish the task.Howe didwelcome Greenwell'ssuggestion that anew supervisor be found.16

Fishersubmitted hisformal report onthestatusoftheUtah guidebook, including estimates on the time needed to complete various parts, on August 29, 1939 In the report Fisher also suggested that in order to streamline the process the Ogden office be closed and that reliefpositions located elsewhere in the statebe relocated in SaltLake City He proposed thattheUtahWP securetheservicesofMontana'stoureditorand suggested hiring an office manager to take managerial responsibilities out of Madsenshands,allowinghim to concentrate onwriting.Both suggestions were veiled swipes at Madsen. Fisher now said he saw no reason that a complete guidebook manuscript could notbeapprovedbyJanuary 1940.17 Though the offices were consolidated ayearlater,most ofhis recommendationswere ignored

Inaddition,theUtahofficewasworkingwithlargercomplications looming overhead. NationalWriters'Project director Henry Alsberg had been dismissedinMay.Inadditiontotheuproarconnectedwiththisfiring,everyonehadbeen distractedbycongressionalwrangling overCongress's authorizationforthenationalproject andthepotentialfalloutiftheFWPwasleft withoutfunding Through thelatespringandintothesummerof1939,the work pace in Utah had lagged appreciably asthe HRS in Ogden and the WP inSaltLakeCitymarkedtime,workingontasksandfilesthatcouldbe completed quickly and dropped ifthe funding plug were actually pulled. Writing on the Utah guide was slowed dramatically or not done at all Francis Harrington, the national relief-project administrator, even ordered offices closednationwide afterJune 30 (thelastfunded day) until the vote

14 Fisher to Howe, August 17, 1939, Morgan papers, 27:146; Fisher to Darrell Greenwell, August 27, 1939, Morgan papers, 27:169.

15 Vardis Fisher to Maurice Howe, August 17,1939, Morgan papers, 27:146

16 Greenwell to Howe, August 22, 1939, Morgan papers, 27:159; Howe to Greenwell, August 25, 1939, Morgan papers, 27:164

17 Fisher to Greenwell, August 29, 1939, Morgan papers, 27:169

onthependingReliefBillresolvedthefinalstatusofFederalOne.18

Writers' Project funding survived the congressional vote tally,but the compromise bill that passed required several drastic,immediate changes

First,theideaofguidebook sponsorshipwasexpandedtoapplytothestate projectsasawhole Somestateshadalreadypublishedtheirguidebooks and closed their offices, but theWriters'Project offices still functioning were required to obtain partial support from sponsoring bodies within their respectivestates. InUtah,CharlesMadsenmadehastyarrangements toslide theWriters'Project under the rubric of the Utah Institute of Fine Arts (UIFA),the state cultural resources office This provided the state's orphan guidebookwithaparentatlast(aco-sponsorwaslaterfoundintheSaltLake County Commission) A second funding condition was that,rather than merely accumulating topical researchfiles,each office must secure sponsors willing to underwrite some ofthe costs ofthe research and distribution of individual writing projects.Writers' Project work would center on what could be funded The legislation also transferred administration from the national level to the states themselves,aprocess that recreated the various stateWP offices asfederallysubsidizedresearch-for-hire units.19 Utah'sguidebook,conductedundertheUIFAsponsorship,becamemerelyoneofseveral large-scaleprojects envisionedbytheUtahWP,amongwhichwere a major historyofgrazingintheWest (completedbutneverpublished) andahistory ofthe Forest Service,which became entangled in sponsorship negotiations andwasabortedbeforewritingwasbegun.20

On thesamedaythat Fisherdatedhisreport,theUtah Institute ofFine Arts signed alease on the old ElksBuilding at 59 So.State Street in Salt Lake City,intending to renovate it asacommunity arts center and offices for the UtahWriters'Project.Within the week, the project sponsorships that the staff had scrambled to draw together werejudged sufficient to meritcontinuedfederal support,andPresidentRooseveltsignedthe necessarypapers InpreparationforthemovetotheElksBuilding,Madsen traveled to Ogden in mid-September to notify the staffthat offices would be centralizedinSaltLakeCity.Bythelastmonths of1939,theOgden office oftheUtahWriters'Projecthad closed.21

The newUtahWriters'Projectwasnowreasonablysecure,and attention returned to the flagging state guidebook Under renewed pressure from

18 Fisher to Howe, June 2, 1939, Morgan papers, 27:65; O'Neil to Morgan, June 24, 1939, Morgan papers, 27:86; Bramwell, Circular Letter No 10, June 30, 1939, Morgan papers, 27:89; Mangione, Dream and the Deal, 13-16, 329-30

19 Mangione, Dream and the Deal, 20—21, 330

20 Smaller projects included publication of Provo: Pioneer Mormon City and a book collecting the texts from state historical markers titled Utah's Story. A "dictionary of Utah altitudes" nearly made it to press with University of Utah sponsorship, as did a Salt Lake City almanac with help from the county One project that was discussed but never got off the ground was a history of Utah's mining industry; another was a history of the Great Salt Lake. Dale Morgan later wrote such a book privately.

21 Salt Lake Tribune, August 29, September 6, 1939; Madsen to Howe, September 12, 1939, Morgan papers, 27:192; Howe to Morgan, October 11, 1939, Morgan papers, 26:575

state and national administrations,Madsen began pushing his writing and editorial staffto produce The pressure backfired badly Staffmembers,still stressedbyinternaldissension,werenowalsosuspiciousoftheir supervisor, and they accomplished little useful editorial work By the third week of September,Madsenknewheneededhelp,andhequietlyoffered HRS historian and editor Dale L Morgan ajob on theWriters' Project staff Morgan was closeto beginning amanuscript on the State ofDeseret that he wanted to write and was putting out HRS county historical sketches with regularity. His attention had been drawn to Farrar & Rinehart's Rivers ofAmerica Series aswell.Infact,on the first ofOctober he wrote the firm proposing avolume on the Humboldt River, and he was still writing to advertising firms throughout California seeking permanent employment With his capacity for writing already strained by what he wanted todo,Morgan declinedtheoffer,feeling thathe couldnottake on anotherlarge-scalewritingoreditorialprojectliketheUtah guidebook.22

With Fisher gone and Madsen still playing office politics, the Utah Writers' Project was left with an incomplete guidebook manuscript, a writingstaffalmostparalyzedbyintrigues,andaneditorinaquandary over preciselyhowtoproceed.Impatient,thenationaloffice moved preemptively and informed the Utah office in December 1939 that aconsulting editor was being dispatched from Washington. Not knowing quite what to expect,inlateJanuaryMadsenaskedMorgantoatleastreviewand critique the historical essay, which had already been through one round of approvals.Morgan agreed.After several dayswith the material,though he feltthatonthewhole theworkwas"ablywritten,"hereturned adevastatingfactual critique.Hiscatalogue offactual errors orfaulty interpretations rantothirteen closely-typed pages "My principle [sic] objection," Morgan wrote to Howe,aclosefriend,"isthat the [guidebook's] emphasislies too greatlyonevent,onpoliticalhistory,andtoolittleonthepeople."23

Less than two weeks later, national Writers' Project editor Darel McConkey arrived in Salt Lake City and set about reviewing drafts and discussing with the staff what yet needed to be done.LikeVardis Fisher months before, McConkey was not impressed with the Utah Writers' Project's collection ofwritten material,andhe confronted Charles Madsen about the state ofthe office and the project Earlier inWashington, Howe had quietly suggested thatMcConkey getDaleMorgan involvedwith the guide,oratleastthehistorical essaysAgainstthisbackdrop,out ofMadsen and McConkey's meeting came an idea to borrow rather than to draft Morganawayfrom theHRS Withindays,McConkeywascampedinWPA director Darrell Greenwell's office insisting that Morgan's services were required if the guidebook project was to be salvaged at all Greenwell

22C. C.Anderson to Morgan, [July 1940], Morgan papers, 27:1101; Morgan to Howe, September 26, 1939, Morgan papers, 26:245.

23Morgan to Howe, January 24, 1940, Morgan papers, 8:915 and 27:303

tentatively agreed and summoned Dee Bramwell The HRS head scrambledtopleadhisowncase.HisargumentswereidenticaltoMadsens,namely that"without [Morgan] theH.R.S.wouldbebehind the8ball."After some discussion,Bramwell returned with acompromise proposal to lay before Morgan Greenwell,Bramwell,andHRSeditorHughO'Neil (whohadbeen includedinthediscussionsbythistime)agreedthatMorganwouldwork on boththeWriters'Project and theHistoricalRecordsSurvey.Sinceitfitwithin his own interest area,increased his salary,and gave him atlast a genuine full-timejob,Morganagreedtotheplanandbegananewworkschedule In the mornings he worked for theWriters'Project asan editor for the state guidebookessays;theafternoonshedevotedtotheHistoricalRecordsSurvey to complete work on the "State ofDeseret"manuscript, an Ogden city history,andvarioushistoricalessaysforthecountyinventoryvolumes.24

Morgan's prodigious memory (and personal accumulation of duplicate transcriptfiles)madetheprocessfunctionally possible,butthe time-sharing further complicated an already awkward arrangement When Morgan and other HRS writers had transferred to the office in Salt Lake City, their voluminous researchfileshad remained in the depopulated Ogden office. Writers would request specific subject files and the files would be transferred between Ogden and Salt Lake City on daily commuter trains MorganwrotetoHowe thathebeganworkingonthetextfor the central essay,the state history,on or near the first ofMarch 1940.But itwas not long before Morgan's copious need for sources demonstrated how awkward the file-transfer arrangement was His requests for file material from Ogdenweresotaxingthat Greenwellfinallyacted on Fisher's earlier suggestion, had the cabinets shipped to Salt Lake City, and closed the Ogdenoffice forgood.25

WhiletherestoftheWP staffworkedfuriously onconvertingfieldnotes into tour manuscripts,Morgan pounded away on the state history.By the end ofApril he had an eighty-nine-page manuscript ready for review. He mailedcarbonstoHoweandMcConkeyandthendivedbackintothe HRS compilation ofaCarbon County bibliography,the Ogden cityhistory,and severalothersmallprojects.WhiletheWashingtonoffice'sreviewsofthisand the guide's other main sections were in process,and before the inevitable round ofcorrections and emendationswerebegun,Morgan determined to make aresearchforay into Nevada to support hisHumboldt River book.26 Morgan,NevadanativeDwightJones,andanotherfriend departedfor their

24 Howe to Morgan, January 19, 1940, Morgan papers, 26:611; transcript of undated conversation in the hand of Dee Bramwell and perhaps Hugh O'Neil, Morgan papers, 27:738—43; Morgan to Howe, February 20, 1940, Morgan papers, 26:304 The last two projects were completed as "The State of Deseret," Utah Historical Quarterly 8 (1940): 65—239, and A History of Ogden (Ogden, UT: Ogden City Commission, 1940).

25 Morgan to Howe, April 6, 1940, Morgan papers, 26:313

26 McConkey to Morgan, April 26, 1940, Morgan papers, 14:1318; Howe to Morgan, April 26, 1940, Morgan papers, 26:675

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

roadtrip onJune 20 Morgan returned twoweekslaterto find McConkey finished withtheessayandsuggestingthatitbecut extensively.

There were other changes, as well Having gotten theWP writing process moving in Utah, Darel McConkey was preparing to return to Washington Beforeleaving,helobbiedintenselyboththestateand nationaloffices toactonFisher'searliersuggestionthattheUtahWriters'Project be restructured Hugh O'Neil of the HRS was one possibility for the directorship. O'Neil had been with the HRS almost since its beginning, and the national office considered him to be a competent editor and administrator,butO'Neil hadseriouslycompromised theappearance ofhis objectivity at the state level by writing a negative article in the antiMormon newspaper Light on Mormonism, publishedinOhio Morgan's personablestyle,coupledwith anobviouslygifted mindandanabilitytopush out asuperior body ofwriting on short schedules had attracted attention from thestateandnationaladministrations.McConkey metlittle resistance when he suggested that the state appoint Morgan to theWriters' Project directorship andthatthe national office approvethe appointment.The day afterMorganleftforNevada,DarelMcConkey excitedlywrotetohimthat he was"IT!"McConkey went east,but not before seeingthat a complete first draft of the guidebook manuscript was mailed to the national office ahead ofhim.Morgan assumed duties astheWP director and state guide editor onJuly 8,1940.Despite hisinterpersonal styleinthe office, Charles Madsen had carried the project through some difficult straits.In acknowledgment ofhishardwork,formerWP editor/directorMadsen was kicked upstairstoanon-supervisorypostintheWPA administration.27

By the time Dale Morgan assumed the state editorship,Utah's guidebook wasslated to become one ofthe lastbooks issued in the American Guide Series,which finally gaveitpriorityinWashington's reviewprocess. Morgan had about two weeks inJuly of 1940 to settle into his new position before the reviewed and corrected drafts that had been sitting in Washington office files for months (some of the tours,for years) finally arrived from the national editors.He immediately divided the manuscript between hisstaffand setthem to work on revisions As general editor, he oversaw the revision process betweenJuly and September and was also responsible for cutting the manuscript to fit the estimated page count allowed by the guide's publication contract with Hastings House.He was also thrown bodily into playing the state agency politics inherent in the cooperativesponsorshipsthathadbecometheproject's lifeblood

Morgan inherited one specific problem aswell The national office had rejected the entire first draft of the guide's opening essay, "The Contemporary Scene," andVardis Fisher's rewriting as well Darel McConkey hadproduced arevisionwhen hewasinthe statehimself,but

27 "The Mormon Communistic State," Light on Mormonism, July Sept 1938; McConkey to Morgan, June 21, 1940, Morgan papers, 14:1319; Morgan to Howe, July 6, 1940, Morgan papers, 26:340

the new FederalWriters'Project director,Alsberg's replacementJohn D. Newsom,stilldidnot approve oftheresult.While thebalance ofthe Utah guide manuscript returned to SaltLake City,the opening essaywas given tosociologistandex-UtahnNelsAnderson.Andersonreturnedhisrevision inlateAugust 1940 Newsomremained dissatisfied

Theprimaryissuebehindthedissatisfactionwiththeleadessaywashow itmightberegardedbyoneparticularlysensitive,historicallyrich resource Adelicaterelationship existedbetween thepublicwritingprojects and the LDS Church Historian's Office,whose library was then the largest in the state.Morgan andDeeBramwell oftheHRS hadcarefully cultivated relationsformorethantwoyears,andforthemoment churchcooperation delicatelytippedintheproject'sfavor.Boththestateandnationaloffices were extraordinarily sensitive and went to great lengths to excise any possible slight,misperception,ormisstatement thatmight upset the church department'sresearchcooperation.Concernedthattheopeningessaymight upset thebalance,Howe turned toMorganforhelp."While Iamverybusy and havemyhandsfull,IwilldoanythingtogettheGuideoutmore quickly," Morganwroteinresponse "Tellthemtofirethedamned essayoutherein allitsversions,andI'llhaveacrackatit."When thebalance ofthe guidebook'sfinalmanuscriptwasshippedinSeptembertothepublisher,Hastings HouseinNewYork,theopeningessaywentbackwesttoMorgan.28

Inthemidstofnegotiationsforprojectsponsorships,routine supervisory and office work, reviews of edited manuscripts, and meetings, Morgan squeezedoutadraft ofanew"Contemporary Scene"essayinalittle more than aweek.The draft, which by now he wryly referred to as "The Contemptuous Scene,"returned toWashington onthesecond of October It was,he stated to Howe, about four-tenths Dale Morgan, two-tenths Maurice Howe,two-tenths Darel McConkey, one-tenth Nels Anderson, "andmaybeanadditionalpaprikasprinklingofVardis Fisher."29 Thisversion wasfinallyaccepted.

With the final guidebook manuscript atlastin the keeping of Hastings House,thepublishercalculatedthebook'sfinishedlength.Itwasthen handedofftoJ.J LittleandIves,aNewYorktypesettingfirm.OnNovember 15, 1940,Maurice Howe wrote hastily to Morgan telling him the glad news thattypewasbeingsetWhiletheirworkwasbeingcommitted totype,the UtahWriters'Project staff turned directly to other enterprises. Morgan devoted histime primarily to soliciting sponsorships for new writing projects,butheagainpickedupworkonHRScountyhistories.30

28 McConkey to Morgan, September 3, 1940, Morgan papers, 14:1347; Morgan to Howe, September 11, 1940, Morgan papers, 26:361 McConkey also reported that despite the work that had been lavished on the manuscript, in the final review he had been required to rewrite the preface, removing many deserved credits. It was a spatial, not a political, decision, he noted to Morgan; McConkey to Morgan, September 22,1940, Morgan papers, 14:1350.

29 Morgan to Howe, October 2, 1940, Morgan papers, 26:368

30 Howe to Morgan, 26:757

Unfortunately, the scheduled publication for the Utah guidebook hit a snagalmostimmediately HastingsHouse shuffled itspriorities,and printing oftheUtah guidewasheldupinfavor oftheLouisiana guidebook, which thepublisher hoped to haveavailablein time for Mardi Gras This twist of fate threatened to push publication ofthe Utah guide from earlyJanuary 1941 well into February or March. Hastings used the downtime to send the Utah manuscript back toWashington to have it cut by an additional hundred pages. After this edit, Howe apologized profusely to Morgan. Most ofthe deletions were quoted material for which the Utah staff had spentmonthsgettingpermissions.31

ThefirstlongsheetsofgalleyproofsarrivedinWashington andUtahjust after Christmas.Morgan read and corrected the Utah sethimself,then he collated corrections linebyline asthey came from Howe and other readers.Initially,Howe complimented Morgan onhowwellthetextflowed (he had begun with Morgan's essay),but within afew sheets both men were appalledbythe choppy overallqualityofthewriting.Howe began sending daily airmail letters of galley corrections to Morgan, who for his part admitted that he was wielding aheavy pencil."There isno semblance of uniformity in organization ofthe information; each essayisadamned law unto itself,"Morgan complained.The galley corrections went beyond factual errors to the heart of the real issue—the writing-by-committee process that had produced the text.Sections had been compiled, written, edited, reviewed, and approved by dozens of different people at different times overthe pastfour years.Before the galley stage,even the editor had seenthewholethingonlyinitsconstituentpieces.32

For years,the effects ofits own convoluted approval process had been lost entirely on the national office, but in the midst of Howe's review a heated battle erupted inWashington over the propriety of national staff editingguidemanuscripts thathadbeen approvedbythe stateprojects and their respective sponsors Since the central office had been editing manuscriptssince 1936,thisshouldhavebeenanon-issue.Perhapsthetime Howe had lavished on the Utah book made it an issue,however, and he quietly informedMorganthathemightnotbeabletocompletehisreading.33

The last ofthe galleyswere hustled back to the printer in time for the Utah offices to host areception and promotional dinner showcasing their work to Utah legislators The partywasanimportant public relations move for theartsprojects,asUtah'slegislatorsgenerally disapproved ofthe whitecollarreliefinitiativessponsoredbythefederal administration Staffmembers entertained questions ofallsorts that evening,and most legislators left that eveningexpressingpositiveopinionsoftheproject's accomplishments.34

31 Howe to Morgan, December 4, 1940, Morgan papers, 26:770

32Morgan to Howe, January 5, 1941, Morgan papers, 26:392

33Howe to Morgan, January 13, 1941, Morgan papers, 26:815.

34 Morgan to Ruby Garrett, January 30, 1941, Morgan papers, 27:475; cf 27:764, 948, 950

With the guide atlast at thepress,marketing became the top priority Through February 1941 the office staff worked on a largescale advertising campaign, writing radio spots of different types and promotional newspaper articles of varying lengths Darrell Greenwell wrote a circular letter reminding employees to boost the book at every opportunity Morgan or his lieutenants approached the Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, and Salt Lake Telegram askingthepapers to feature thebook,notjust advertiseit.He alsoput in place aplan for the one major labor remainingon thevolume:theindex Coming at the end of the process, indexing is always the most intensive,time-driven part of publication. Once corrected page proofs arrived in early March, the index consumed an entire week oftwelve-hour daysfor thewholeWP

office.Asthelastofthe index cards were being written up,atelegram from the publisher on Saturday morning announced that Hastings needed the typed index manuscript in handbythefollowingTuesdayifitwastokeepapublicationdateofApril1 Severalofthestaffcompletedthenecessaryworkinstraight thirty-six-hour stintsthroughtheweekend;theindexwasmailedMonday morning.35

Their work paid off.A single copy of Utah: A Guide to the State, in its blueandyellow dustjacket,arrivedinSaltLakeCityfrom Hastingsviaair express mail on March 28,1941.The book was handed carefully around the UtahWriters'Project office, since this copy was supposed to be presentedformally to Governor Herbert Maw the next day.This formal presentation was made to the governor by UIFA director Gail Martin and Ruby Garrett,head ofthe UtahWPA'sWomen's andProfessional Projects section.36 No onefrom theWriters'Projectwasinvited.The staffheld their ownpublicationpartyafew dayslaterwhenthecratedbooksbegan arriving.Presentation copiesoftheguidebook weregiventotheUtah Institute of Fine Arts board members, select state officials, and the Utah State

Gail Martin (right), Utah Institute of Fine Arts director, presents the first copy of the Utah guide to Governor Herbert B. Maw. Ruby S. Garrett looks on.

~> Morgan to Howe, March 10, 1941, Morgan papers, 26:404

5 Salt Lake Tribune, March 29,1941

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Historical Society and SaltLake City libraries Morgan made certain that inscribed copies were given to the entire staff of the LDS Church Historian's Office and to church president Heber J. Grant.The project writers and editors who had produced the book were required to buy copiesontheir own. 37

The dayafter theApril 1publication date,the Utah guide appeared on storeshelves,andthestaffactivatedthepromotional campaign.Since much ofthe guidebook wasgeared toward automobile traveland sites reachable byroad,thestaffhadhuntedupanold"horselesscarriage"automobile.The carwasusedinapromotionalstunttocarrythefirstcopiesoftheguide to the downtown stores and to present abook to Salt Lake City mayor Ab Jenkins.Building on this"horseless carriage"publicity,MayorJenkins and theWriters' Project offered a copy of the guide to any owner of an automobile built before 1920.The only catch was that a car had to be driventotheArtsCenterinorderforitsownertoclaimavolume.38 Copies ofthebookwere displayedprominentlyinthe downtownArtsCenter the sameday

Retailinterestinthe capitalcitywas said tobe considerable.The downtown storesimmediately absorbed7,500 smallpromotional flyerssentwest by Hastings.ZCMI's staff hurriedly mimeographed an announcement of their own and sent it to affiliated stores in the southern part ofthe state Elsewhere in the city,anecdotal sales reports were exciting aswell.The books were said to be selling rapidly in Deseret Book Store,ZCMI, and Auerbach'sbook department.Atanoffice machinestorewherehe worked, Morgan'sbrotherBob soldhisown copyright offhisdesktop,even before he'd had achance to look at it,to acustomer who had walked into the office TheWriters'Project editorwasentertaining theheadyideathat the entirepressrunmightselloutwithinthestatealone.Thereactionofcritics fueled hisoptimism.EvenamongtheAmerican GuideSeriesbooks,which weregenerallypraised,theUtahguidewasacknowledgedtostandapart for itsscope,narrative quality,andreadability.Morganwaspleasedto catalogue verylittlenegative opinion butwaspained overnine or ten typographical errorsthathadslippedthroughthereviewprocess.39

Despite excitinginitialreports,within afew daysofthebook'sreleaseit was evident that actual sales figures were modest Discrete inquiries revealed thatvirtually nothing hadbeen done tomarket the book beyond handing out the publisher's brochures and ZCMI's flier Hastings House had failed to do direct mailings aspromised, either to Latter-day Saint congregations or to the Utah State Historical Society membership list

37 Morgan to Heber J Grant, April 3, 1941, MS B-57, 79: "Correspondence," USHS; Walter Frese to Ruby Garrett, March 18, 1941, MS B-57, 79: "Correspondence," USHS; Morgan to Ruth [Garrett], April 5, 1941, Morgan Papers, 27:1064

38 Salt Lake Tribune, April 2 and 3,1941; Morgan papers, 80:1042, 1109.

39 Morgan to Howe, April 4,1941, Morgan papers, 26:409

Localstoreshadfailedtousethemarketingmaterialssuppliedbythe project, and somehadnot usedin-store advertising orcreatedbook displaysatall TheWriters'Projectstaff,whohadproducedthebookandgeneratedanad campaign, now had to make promotional contacts,sales calls,and billing arrangementsinordertomarkettheeditionthemselves.The staffvisited or wrotetoschoollibrariesthroughoutthestate,toutingtheguidebook's suitability for general use.They approached the Continental Oil Company (Conoco) about featuring the guide in appropriate issues ofitsTravelaid brochure series They even took it to theAlta Club,where the wealthy, conservative club officers were impressed with the book and praised it warmly,feeling that it would benefit the state's businesses However, the Republican party members among them declined to allow the club to underwrite its advertising on the grounds that they did not want to be perceivedassupportingtheoffshoot ofaDemocratic program. 40

By the middle of May,the war in Europe occupied more and more headlines,anddespitethebestefforts ofprojectpersonneltopushsales,few retailers responded.The book was aseller,but not the spectacular sellout that Morgan had hoped for Deseret Book Store,which had not bothered even to feature the book with in-store advertising,sold ahundred copies quickly but dawdled over reordering.Another store owner did not order copies atalluntil thebook hadbeen out twoweeks,and then he wanted onlyhalfadozen.Theyweregone almostinstantly,butheplacedasecond orderjust assmall No store in Provo carried the guide,and newspapers south of Salt Lake City failed to carry stories or advertising despite the almost-weekly press releases the project office sent out Reinforced by a positive article on theWPA guides in the Journal of the National Education Association, WP publicist George Hunter wrote an article on the guide's production process atthe invitation ofthe Utah Educational Review editor. However,when copies ofthe magazine came out,Hunter could not find thearticleatall.Ithadbeen dropped from the contents tomake space for last-minute advertisingThe editorapologizedandpromisedthatthe article would run in the next issue. Hunter inquired when that would be. Sometimeinthefall,hewastold.41

Guidebook salescontinued steadilydespitethesetbacks Unaware ofthe inattention among distributors,Ogden's Standard Examiner concluded that "interest [in the guide] was light" 42 —even though contemporary comments imply that saleswere good among those who knew about the bookandcouldlocateacopyinthestores On thefirstSundayinJuly,fully three months after its release,the Salt Lake Tribune at last ran a full-page

40 See various correspondence between April 3 and June 15, 1942, Morgan papers, sect 7, for comments on the topic, particularly 27:662, 863, 974,1001,1145,1161, 1190,1229

41 Morgan to Howe, May 10, 1941, Morgan papers, 26:423; Journal of the National Education Association 27 (May 1938): 140-41.

42 Ogden Standard Examiner, undated clipping, Morgan papers, 80:1316

illustrated story on the book The story came late enough that the writer could comment on what seemed to be the guide's slow sales.To boost awarenessinthestate,theArtsProjectputtogether atraveling promotional exhibit that wasfeatured not onlyin the SaltLake City offices but alsoin Provo,Price,and Helper.43 By thistime the excitement ofpublication had passed,and the UtahWriters'Project staffturned their attention to other projects in a fight for the program's continued survival.Morgan tried mightily to convince the state to adopt the project asits public relations anddevelopment arm,withoutsuccess.44

Six months after release of the Utah guide, the final book in the American Guide Series,the guidebook for Oklahoma, was issued. By September 1941,the fifty-one-component showpiece of the Writers' Project was complete.Utah's guide had been released mere weeks before the first peacetime draft began drawing men for military training.As the U.S entered the SecondWorldWar,Morgan and his staff continued to promote sales of the Utah guide,devoting more energy to placing eversmaller numbers of books When theWriter's Project was disbanded in 1943,the copies remaining in the project's hands were probably parceled outbythepublishertovariousstoresasremainders

Intheyearsimmediately after thewar,asyoungservicemen and women returned home to begin families, buy new cars, and spend disposable income in leisure pursuits,sales oftheAmerican Guide Series picked up again A compilation of tours from the guide series was issued in fivevolume regional and one-volume nationalvariations in 1954,and Utah: A Guide to the State was reprinted virtually without changes in 1945,1954, and 1959.Now sixtyyears old,theWPA guidebook hasbeen superseded by newer, more up-to-date titles,including revised versions of itself. In 1981 the guidebook was subjected to a"second edition," and a third followed in 1998.45 These describe more national monuments and parks, larger cities,and an interstate highway system The first-edition books are gonefrom theholdingsofmostpublicandschoollibraries,butthe volume remainsinterestingreadingandcanstillguideareaderalongmanyofwhat havebecome Utah's back roads.However,buyers must look hard for one, because the original imprint, ifit is in good condition and sports the increasingly rareillustrated dustjacket, finds eagerbuyersin the rare book market Curious, isn't it?The treasures coddled by modern rare-book collectors are afar cry from the everyman's guide to the country first envisionedbyHenryAlsberg

44 Morgan to Howe, May 1, 1941, Morgan papers, 26:418; Morgan to Ora Bundy, October 14, 1941, 27:578

43Darrel McConkey by Ruby Garrett to Florence Kerr for John Newsom, June 16, 1941, WPA papers, 79: "Correspondence," USHS

45 Ward Jay Roylance, Utah: A Guide to the State (Salt Lake City: Utah a Guide to the State Foundation, 1982); Barry Scholl and Francois Camoin, Utah:A Guide to the State (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 1998)

Dorothea Lange's Portrait of Utah's Great Depression

By JAMES R SWENSEN

From itspublic debut in 1839,thephotograph hasbeen an importantmeansbywhichhistorianshaveacquaintedthepublicwith the people and landscapes ofthe past andwith the events,both tragic and triumphant, that have shaped our lives.The photograph isa captured moment, alingering image frozen in time for allgenerations to witness Utah historians have looked to the images of Charles Savage, William HenryJackson, andTimothy O'Sullivan,to name but afew, to help us understand the state's past Yet we must remember that,like any other art form, the photograph is subjective.There isno such thing asa tabula rasa inphotography Everyphotograph isareflection ofthe photographer's own biases, experiences, perceptions, and agendas,which are captured,eitherconsciouslyorsubconsciously,on film.

Thephotographer'shandispresentinthework,whetherinthe handling oflightorinthedecisiononwhatto include and what to exclude.1 On the surface, this pointmayseemtrivial,andyet understanding the photographer's ability to visually edit a photograph isessential in understanding historical photography For example, Savage,a Mormon convertfrom GreatBritain,usedhis camera to show that the Mormons ofUtah's "Zion"weremakingthe desert"blossomasa rose"in accordance with the prophecies of Isaiah.2 O'Sullivan andJackson composed

In 1936Dorothea Lange took this photograph of a Mormon Danish immigrant in Widtsoe, Utah, receiving her first old-age assistance check from the federal government. All photographs are Farm Security Administration photos taken by Dorothea Lange.

1 See Peter Hales, William Henry Jackson and the Transformation of the American Landscape (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988), 44

2 Bradley W Richards, The Savage View: Charles Savage, Pioneer Mormon Photographer (Nevada City, CA: Carl Mautz Publishing, 1995), 44

James R Swensen teaches at the Salt Lake Community College For his master's thesis at BYU he wrote about Dorothea Lange and the Farm Security Administration in Utah

photographs that helped propel theAmerican myth of the great western expanse ofmajestic peaks,never-ending prairies,and unconquered natural wonders.3 Infact,itshouldberemembered that everyphotograph istaken withahiddenorovertagenda,whetherideological,artistic,orpolitical

This idea ofthe photographer's agenda isnowhere more apparent than inthephotography oftheFarmSecurityAdministration (FSA).From 1935 to 1942,FSA photographersWalker Evans,Dorothea Lange,Ben Shahn, RussellLee,Arthur Rothstein,and others scouredAmerica photographing the Great Depression and pre-WorldWar IIAmerica In the process,they created one ofthe most comprehensive and complete portraits ofAmerica ever made Over the last fifty years, Utah historians have often used photographs from the FSA or Resettlement Administration (RA),as the FSA was known before 1937,to illustrate books and articles about the depressionanditsimpactonUtah'sminersand farmers.4

The practical goals of the Resettlement Administration and Farm SecurityAdministration were to help the rural poor ofAmerica.The goal oftheFSAphotographers wastotakepicturesthatsupported their agency. In covering their various assignments, the photographers did what was necessary toachievethisend.According to Susan Sontag,theywould look for the decisive moments that best supported their own notions about poverty, dignity,and exploitation. She writes,"In deciding how a picture should look, in preferring one exposure to another, photographers are alwaysimposing standards on their subjects."Likewise,David Peeler stated that the scenes the FSA photographers captured were pliable and were arranged "according to [their] own notion ofjust what the truth should be."5 The photographers,therefore, created aphotographic vision that was specifically designed to support the New Deal'sPJVand FSAthrough the windows oftheir own personal ideologies Each photographic assignment wastherefore slantedtofitthe agenda oftheRA/FSA orthat ofthe photographerratherthantomimictherealityoftheactualscene.

Dorothea Lange,one ofthe agency's most renowned photographers,is regarded ashaving a sensitive eye and acute social consciousness. In the earlyspring of 1936 shetraveled through Utah for the RA The principal reasonforhertriptoUtahwastodocument theplight ofthepoor miners

3 Hales, William Henry Jackson, 58; Beaumont Newhall, The History of Photography: 1839 to the Present Day (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1988), 94-103

4 The FSA collection, housed in the Library of Congress in Washington, DO , contains more than 270,000 images, all of which were collected under the direction of Roy Stryker The Resettlement Administration (RA), the agency under which the photography unit was established in 1935, was absorbed by the FSA in 1937. For the purpose of this article I "will refer to both agencies because a majority of the images and assignments discussed took place in the spring of 1936 and therefore fall under the aegis of the R A and not the FSA

5 Susan Sontag, On Photography (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1977), 6; David P Peeler, Hope Among Us Yet: Social Criticism and Social Solace in Depression America (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1987), 58 See also James Curtis, Mind's Eye, Mind's Truth: FSA Photography Reconsidered (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989), 5-18

ofCarbon County and conditions in the federally supported resettlement town ofWidtsoe andin theMormon frontier town ofEscalante.In Utah, sheused her selective artistic sensibilities to create avision that supported andjustified her agency,itspresence,and itsprograms aswell asher own beliefsandideology.6

Tounderstand herwork,one mustfirstunderstand her Langewas born in 1895 in Hoboken, NewJersey.At the age ofseven,she was struck by polio.The diseaseproduced aprofound butwell-masked limp inher walk that shecarried throughout herlife.Speakingofher ailment,Lange stated, "Ithinkitperhapswasthemostimportant thingthathappened tome and formed me,guided me,instructed me,helped me,and humiliated me All thosethingsatonce."7 The effect ofherailmentwouldbeasanaidand an influence inherphotography Because ofhersmallframe,quietnature,and marked limp,Lange would not be perceived as a threat to her subjects, who,shebelieved,more freely opened themselves for examination.8 More important, she felt that her disability helped her understand, feel,and see theinnerstrengthsofhersubjects LikeLange,hersubjectswouldbe handicapped,thoughnotinbodybutbycrushingeconomic circumstances.

By the age of twenty-three, Lange became restless Having begun to develop her photographic eye under the tutelage of ClarenceWhite and Arnold Genthe,sheembarked onajourney around theworldwith aclose friend,$140,andacamera.The duo madeitasfar asSanFrancisco,where their money was stolen and their plans grounded. From that point on, LangemadetheWesther home.

In San Francisco,Lange quickly procured work in a photo-finishing shopandlaterstartedherownportraitstudioWithtime,herstudio attractedmany oftheBayArea elite.Itwashere that shemet her first husband, the painter Maynard Dixon,whom she married on March 21,1920.The couple stayed together for fifteen years,during which time they had two sons,Dan andJohn.The twoartistshelpedeachotherrefine their uniquely personalstyles Maynard,itseems,helpedLangefurther developher artistic eyeforcompositionandanunderstandingoftheWest.Itwaswithhim that Lange cametoknow thelandandpeople ofUtah Dorothea,onthe other hand,wasDixon'sguidetothestreetsofthe depression.9

6 Lange worked, at times sporadically, for the FSA from August 1935 to 1940

Walker Evans is typically considered the FSA's greatest photographer, rivaled only by Lange and Ben Shahn For a complete history of the Historical Section see Jack F Hurley, Portrait of a Decade: Roy Stryker and the Development of Documentary Photography in the Thirties (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1972), 43-44, 94 For Lange's photographic vision, see Curtis, Mind's Eye, 45-67

7 Dorothea Lange, The Making of a Documentary Photographer, an interview by Suzanne Reiss (Berkeley: Regional Oral History Office, Bancroft Library, University of California, 1968), 17

8 This fact is easily noticeable in her field notes Pervasive throughout are quickly scribbled statements from her subjects that are often of a personal nature See Therese Thau Heyman, Celebrating the Collection: The Work of Dorothea Lange (Oakland, CA: Oakland Museum, 1978), 84-85

9 See Heyman, Celebrating the Collection, 50-52, and Deborah Brown Rasial, "Dixon and Lange: The Give and Take in a Marriage of Aesthetics," in Linda Jones Gibbs, Escape to Reality: the Western World of

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Around 1933,Langehadfound that her studio work wasnot indicative ofthe realworld thatpassedbyherwindow in theform ofthe homeless, penniless,andjobless Eventually,she found herselfwandering out to the streetstophotograph theirharshreality.Lange'spivotalwork,"WhiteAngel Breadline"(1933),demonstrates herpersonal ideology ofuniversal sympathy and agenuine concern for even the humblest being.10 This ideology would come to fruition in her work for the Resettlement Administration andtheFarmSecurityAdministration.

The changetophotographingthepoorwasalsofacilitatedbythesociologist Paul S.Taylor.Taylor,an economic sociologist firmly committed to the New Deal and to improving the agricultural conditions of theWest, hired Lange in 1935 asaphotographer for his research with state-funded projects scatteredacrossCalifornia ByAugust 1935,bothLangeandTaylor hadbeen hired by the RA andwere assigned to coverRegion IX,which included Utah,Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Nevada Taylor stronglybelievedthatphotographywasanessentialcomponent tohiswork as aresearcher "[To] be able to see what the real conditions were like," Taylor stated,"my words would not be enough...to show the conditions vividly and accurately."11 In covering their various assignments, the two worked asateam,withTaylorproviding the text andLange supplying the visual imagery This team was further strengthened in December 1935, whenLangeandTaylordivorcedtheirspousesand married.12

When Langejoined thePJ\.in 1935the objectives andstrategies ofthe newly formed New Deal agency were still in their infancy The Resettlement Administration was officially created May 1, 1935, by ExecutiveOrder7027.Itsformation stemmedfrom FranklinD.Roosevelt's concernforAmerica'sruralpopulation,whichhadformorethanfiveyears suffered greatly from the effects of the Great Depression.The president appointed RexfordTugwell,amember ofhisfamed "BrainTrust,"ashead ofthenewagency,whichwasaconglomeration ofalready-existing agencies aimedathelpingtheagriculturalsector.TheRA'sprimaryobjectivewasto aidthe"forgotten man atthebottom ofthe economic pyramid"13 through

Maynard Dixon (Provo, UT: BYU Museum of Art, 2000), 140-67 Dixon's short but profound move away from landscapes to street scenes, which he began in 1935, is typically known as his "Strike and Forgotten Man" Series.

10 Milton Meltzer, Dorothea Lange: A Photographer's Life (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1978), 33-34; W Eugene Smith, "One Whom I Admire, Dorothea Lange (1895-1965)," Popular Photography, February 1966, 88 See also Pare Lorentz,"Dorothea Lange: Camera with a Purpose," US Camera 1 (1941): 98

11 Karen Tsujimoto, Dorothea Lange: Archive of an Artist (Oakland: Oakland Museum of California, 1995), 10-11

12 Meltzer, Dorothea Lange, 128 For the quintessential example of their teamwork see Dorothea Lange and Paul S. Taylor, An American Exodus: A Record of Human Erosion (New York: Reynal and Hitchcock, 1939)

13 Sidney Baldwin, Poverty and Politics: The Rise and Decline of the Farm Security Administration (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1968), 48, 92 The construction of the Tropic Dam west of Bryce Canyon is a good example of a project administered by the RA; see Paul S.Taylor, "From the Ground Up," Survey Graphic (September 1936): 528

resettlement,approvedprojects,andsmallloans.Inall,Roosevelthoped that thesemeasurescouldrescuetheone-third ofthenationthathesawas"illhoused,ill-clad,ill-nourished."14

Due to the "big government" nature of the RA's programs,Tugwell knew that hisadministration would come under serious attack from conservatives who sawhis agency asstrange,socialist,and even Communist.15 He knew that the RA could not survive misrepresentation. He therefore createdanambitiouspublicinformation programwithin theRA,designed to propagate faith in the agency and its programs.This Information Division,apropagandamachine,wouldbroadcastthepositiveaspectsofthe RA through radio programs,magazines,yearbooks,circulars and bulletins, anddocumentaryfilms.16

Arguably the most successful sector ofTugwell's Information Division wasthephotography divisionor,asitbecametitled,theHistorical Section. ForTugwell, photography was a perfect medium through which to publicize the activities ofthe r\A. He believed in the camera's power to "educate"thepublic;heknewthatacarefully composedphotograph could be innocently and automatically accepted asreality "You could never say anything about photography—it was aphotograph, it was apicture," he said "This was somethingyou couldn't deny This was evident."17 To head the Historical Section Tugwell hired Roy Stryker, an economist and colleaguefromtheUniversityofColumbia Strykerwaszealously committed to theprecepts ofRoosevelt's New Deal andTugwell's PJ\..LikeTugwell, he believed in the camera's ability to support the administration's political ideology,swaypublicopinion,placatemisconceptions,and,most important, helpAmerica'sruralpoor

Tugwell gaveStryker the task ofdocumenting the agency's activities by photographing various RA projects that dotted the country, from Greenbelt communities such as Hightstown, New Jersey, to the resettlement of small rural towns such asWidtsoe, Utah.The collected photographswouldbeusedbymembersofCongresstopushforlegislation, or they would be loaned out to various magazines such as Time, Fortune, Survey Graphic, or even Junior Scholastic.These outletswould,inturn,generate goodpublicityfortheRA.InalettertoDorotheaLange,Stryker reminded hisphotographer,"I am terribly glad that the photographs have had such wide use.That, after all is the first purpose of our existence—to get as

14 Franklin D Roosevelt, quoted in The Years of Bitterness and Pride: Farm Security Administration FSA Photographs 1935-1943 (NewYork: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1975), 1

15 Tugwell's radical programs were a far cry from the conservative belief that the government could "not spend [its] way to prosperity"; see S. A. Spencer, The Greatest Show on Earth: A Photographic Story of Man's Strugglefor Wealth (New York: Doubleday, Dorant and Company, 1938), 158, 172, 176-77, and "Farm Trouble: Cooperative and Ex-director Call Each Other Communist," Newsweek, January 16, 1936: 40-41

16 Baldwin, Poverty and Politics, 113-17

17 Heyman, Celebrating the Collection, 70.

much good publicity aswe can for the Resettlement Administration."18 This"goodpublicity"wasadmittedlypositivepropagandafortheagency In photographing the poorest third of the rural poor Stryker and his team believed that they were showing the formidable need for the RA and its programs—andthattheywereactinginthebestinterestoftheirsubjects.19

Although, unlike Stryker, Lange was not committed to any particular political ideology,she was deeply devoted to the New Deal.20 In a 1936 lettertoStrykershestatedherallegiance:"I'vesaidbefore thatyou cancall on me for anything I can do to further the cause which we are both so vitally interested in."21 Her dedication was based not on political grounds but on altruism. In visiting the various RA/FSA programs across the nation, she had seen the New Deal helpAmerica's rural population, and she felt the New Deal generally did help those in need.By producing sympathetic photographs ofAmerica's destitute rural communities, she knew that she could aid her agency's cause and in so doing benefit the poor.ForLange,itdidnotmatterwhether thiswaspropaganda.According to her,"Everything ispropaganda for what you believe in... The harder andthemore deeplyyoubelieveinanything,themoreinasenseyouarea propagandist Conviction, propaganda, faith I don't know, I never have beenabletocometotheconclusionthatthats' [sic] abadword."22

When LangearrivedinUtahin 1936,the economywasslowly recuperating and unemployment was at a five-year low,yet the effects of the depressionwerestillclearlyvisibleAtonepointmore than60,000 Utahns, or35.8percentofthetotalpopulation,wereunemployed,andthousands of farms andranches faced foreclosure In 1933Utah governor Henry Blood looked toWashington for aid and through personal solicitation secured millions of dollars for Utah's families from New Deal funds As a result, various New Deal programs began to spread throughout the state.The federal government eventually spent $569.99per capitain Utah,atotal of $289million,tohelppullthestateoutofthe depression.23

18 For the various uses of the photographs see Maren Stange, Symbols of Ideal Life: Social Documentary Photography in America, 1890-1950 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989), 108-13. Stryker to Lange, October 30,1936, quoted in Heyman, Celebrating the Collection, 69

19 Baldwin, Poverty and Politics, 119

20 When asked whether his wife had any affiliations with Communism or any particular group, Paul Taylor responded, "No, no, not political or otherwise No, she didn't belong to any, she didn't even belong to the f/64 photographers club... She didn't belong to any thing." Her son Daniel Dixon also confirmed that Lange "had no interest in politicians"; see Paul Taylor, Paul Schuster Taylor: California Social Scientist, an interview by Suzanne Reiss, vol 1 (Berkeley: Regional Oral History Office, 1973), 222 See also Elizabeth Partridge, ed., Dorothea Lange:A Visual Life (Washington DC : Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994), 68

21 Lange to Stryker, November 1936, quoted in Jack F Hurley, "The Farm Security Administration File, In and Out of Focus," History of Photography 17 (Autumn 1993): 250.

22 Lange, The Making of a Documentary Photographer, 206

23 Thomas G.Alexander, Utah:The Right Place (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1995), 323ff; John F Bluth and Wayne K Hinton, "The Great Depression," in Richard D Poll, et al., eds., Utah's History (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1989), 482, 485, 495; G. Melvin Foxely, interview by the author, March 1998, Salt Lake City, Utah, transcript in possession of the author O n Blood's lobbying in Washington, DC , see R.Thomas Quinn,"Out of the Depression's Depths: Henry H Blood's First Year as Governor," Utah Historical Quarterly 54 (Summer 1986): 233, 216-39.

During her visit to Utah,Lange would focus on the hardships of three small rural areas. 24 She began in the snowy coal-laden hills of Carbon County by photographing the forgotten miners in the small towns of ConsumersandNational.Hernextassignmentdocumentedthe abandonment ofWidtsoe during the RA's resettlement ofitsresidents Last,she traveled to the isolated Mormon town of Escalante. In each of these areas,she constructed,through her own visual editing,distinct portraits These wellcrafted portrayals reflected Lange's support ofthe I\A aswell asher own beliefs and ideology The visions of Consumers,Widtsoe, and Escalante werenotspecifically designedtoshowthetruenatureofthetownsortheir reality;rather,thephotographicportfolioswereconstructed tofitthe needs ofLangeandtheRA.25

After arriving in Salt Lake City on March 25, 1936, only days after recording her monumental "Migrant Mother"photograph,Lange traveled southeast to the depressed communities of Carbon County.26 The Great Depressionwasnot thebeginning ofhardtimesfor Carbon County's coal mines In fact,by the time the stock market crashed in October 1929 the mineshadalreadyendured eightyearsofdepression.Theyear1920 marked thebeginning ofanationalcoalrecession thatwouldlastuntilthe surging economy ofWorldWar II.By 1921,Utah's coal mines began to feel the impactofthenationalslideandwereforcedtocurtailproduction The slide continued,andby 1932Utah'stotalcoalproduction waslessthan one-half thatofl920.

The Resettlement Administration wanted to improve the appalling housingconditionsinminingtownsbyprovidingsmallloanstothe miners sothat they could build sturdier homes and cultivate small gardens These measures,itwas hoped,would"shield [the miners] from the insecurity of companyhousingandseasonalemployment"—andmakethemless dependent on the government for help.28 The BJVneeded to exposethe poverty of the mining towns in order to begin to improve the situation Lange's task,therefore,wastocapture,inmatter-of-fact images,theclear destitution ofthefamiliesandthepovertyoftheirhomes

24 She would also cover smaller assignment such as the Central Dry Land Adjustment Project, centered in Tooele County's Rush Valley, and the building of the Tropic Dam Both assignments received considerably less attention from Lange and her camera

25 Peeler, Hope among Us Yet, 46 See also Charles Shindo, Dust Bowl Migrants in the American Imagination (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1997), 2

26 Dorothea Lange, Field Notes, Dorothea Lange Collection, Oakland Museum, Oakland, California, 24. Upon arriving in Utah, Lange took a taxi to the Hotel Utah and paid for stamps, camera assistance, and a telephone call. Later she met with Ann Sundwall, assistant director of employment for the WPA, and headed out to her assignments While the field notes are rich in some areas, they are extremely spotty in others Piecing her complete activities together from her notes is rather difficult

27 Ibid.; Poll, ed., Utah's History, 465; A State Plan for Utah: Progress Report, April 15, 1935 (Salt Lake City: Utah State Planning Board, 1935), 197-98

28 Walter N Polakov, "Hovels that Miners Call Home," Shelter, October 1938, 7; Brian Cannon, Life and Land: The Farm Security Administration Photographers in Utah (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1988), 4; Meltzer, Dorothea Lange, 139

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

When Lange arrived in Carbon County on March 27, the mining towns that dotted the landscape around Helper and Price were crumbling under the weight of hard times; to capture images of poverty Lange could have selected any of the county's mining camps. 29 Forher assignment Lange chose the towns in the Gordon Creek area: National and its neighbor to the west, Consumers. Ironically,theseweretwo of the newest coal camps, but they had already fallen into difficult circumstances. The snowy area, miserable homes, and worn mining families presented the ideal setting for her look into theplightofAmerica'spoorminingtowns

One ofthemost tellingimagesLange captured wasaviewup the main street of Consumers just beyond the Blue Blaze Coal Mine Lange captioned the photograph:"Consumers, near Price,Utah,March 1936.A Settlement ofworkers in theBlueBlaze coalmine which iscontrolled by absentee capital.Main Street."30 In their prime, National and Consumers hadacombinedpopulation ofnearly500people,31 butinthisimagealone figure appears.Making his way through the mud and snow, the figure glances back at Lange,his face blurred by his sudden action.This lone figure isbracketedbytworowsofdark-lookinghomes ofvarioussizesand shapes.The houses appear similar to those in any other coal settlement across the nation in the 1930s, which a contemporary described as "Crowded, unsanitary houses with leaky roofs,with floors and windows barringno cold."32 Later,Langewouldphotograph theminersreturning up the same street to their disorganized and disheveled homes,which they rentedfrom themineforuptoeightdollarsamonth.33

29 J Eldon Dorman, interview by the author, August 1999, Price, Utah, tape recording in possession of the author

30 Caption, LC-USF-34-9037-E, Library of Congress.

31 Stephen Carr, The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns (Salt Lake City:Western Epics, 1972), 81

32 Polakov, "Hovels that Miners Call Home," 7. Other RA/FSA photographers would find similar situations across the nation See Shahn's "Jenkins, Kentucky, 1935" (LC-USF-33-006137-M5), Rothstein's "Coal Miner's Housing, 1937" (LC-USF-34-025461-D), and Post-Wolcott's "Main street, Chaplin, West Virginia, Sept 1938" (LC-USF-33-030204-M3).

33 Caption, LC-USF-34-009043-E According to the September 1933 payroll for the Blue Blaze Coal

Main Street, Consumers, March 1936.

Togetto thisvantagepoint shehadpassedunder the mine tipple—the looming gateway to the city—a three-story apartment house, well-kept offices,andthepostoffice The areaofthetown sheselectedto emphasize was visibly poorer than the more polished area of the community, represented byher photograph ofthe company store.She didnot photographotherpositiveaspectsofthetownsuchastheservicestation,amodel medical clinic featuring anx-ray machine,a five-bed hospital,and awellstocked pharmacy Ashistorian Brian Cannon haspointed out,her vision of Consumers was skewed to emphasize the poverty and injustice facing theminers.34 Shecreatedavisionthatcentered on the desperate aspects of thissmallUtah community;instead ofconcrete edifices,she photographed thedilapidatedwoodenhomesoftheminers Repeatedly,hercaptionslabel thetownsasthe"Dumping GroundoftheWest."Thesourceofthislabelis debated, but for Lange the phrase was possibly the only term that adequatelydefinedtheexperienceoflivinginthepoorcoalcamps.35

As Lange walked through National and Consumers, she continued to concentrate on the small homes of the camps,both individually and collectively.The imageswere carefully and deliberately crafted toshow her audience the ramshackle homes built of scrap lumber and tar paper To emphasize her vision,Lange took advantage ofthe cold blanket of snow, which she used to highlight the contrast between the dark buildings and the white landscape.By minimizing the size ofthe miners'homes in her viewfinder andfinalprints,Langemakesthehousesseemsmallerand more uninhabitable thantheyreallywere.Foramiddle-classviewer,these homes wouldappeartobenothingmorethanbeat-upshacks

During her visit Lange also focused on occupants of the dilapidated homesThemen ofthecoalcampswererepresentedbyastarkimageofan older miner standing in front of arailway car.Although the miners of Carbon Countywerethoughttobebeatenandbatteredbydepressionsand strikes,36 Langeportraystheman'sdignityandpridedespitehissurroundings, Mine, the average rent was around $6.50 per month.That same month, the average daily salary was $4.00, but, due to erratic mine operation, the employees only worked an average of fourteen days per month

The cited numbers are averages, as wages and days varied greatly Dave Parmley, the mine foreman, for example, worked thirty days in September at $7.50 per day In comparison, hoist-man Edgar Johnson worked only twenty-two days at $3.40 per day Although the numbers may be skewed due to the 1933 strike, the figures are quite similar to those of August and October 1933 See payroll for the Blue Blaze Coal Mine, Consumers, Utah, 1933, Special Collections, Harold B Lee Library, BrighamYoung University

34 Cannon, Life and Land, 4. For an understanding of the makeup of Consumers, see J. Eldon Dorman, Confessions of a Camp Doctor and Other Stories (Price, UT: Peczuh Printing, 1995) Stephen Carr provides a good description of what was left in ruins when the town was abandoned in the 1950s; see Carr, Utah Ghost Towns, 81. Today little of the original structures remains; the foundations of National's school and municipal buildings are about all that is left The rest was razed in order to create a larger road for a lumber company farther up the valley and a newly opened mine that stands on the site where the town of Consumers once stood

35 Dorman interview; Lange, Field Notes, 25; see caption for LC-USF34-009003-C

36 J Russell Smith, North America: Its People and the Resources, Development, and Prospects of the Continent as Home of Man (NewYork: Harcourt, Braceland, and Co., 1925), 622; Floyd A O'Neal, "Victims of Demand: The Vagaries of the Carbon County Coal Industry," in Philip F Notarianni, ed., Carbon County: Eastern Utah's Industrial Island (Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society, 1981), 37.

thesameunconquerable pride thatthe author Sherwood Anderson had noted when he visited another coalmine one year earlier He stated,"There issomethingpathetic andatthe same time magnificent in these men,the coal miners ofAmerica, in a certain something very hard to expressbut very realin them.... Thereissomethingdistinctandrealseparating them now from the defeated factory hands of the cities.They are not defeated men."37 Like those in Anderson's writing, Lange's miner exhibits an inner strength:With his strong, tightly setjaw,this isan individual beset but notovercomebyhisproblems

As this photograph shows, Lange was expertatmakinghersubjects appear dignified no matter how difficult their circumstance Referring to her photographs of similar subjects,Lange said,"It's very hard to photograph aproud man against abackground [of poverty],because it doesn't show what he's proud about. I had to get my camera to register the things about those people that were more important than how poor they were—their pride, their strength, their spirit."38 Everything around this miner reveals the reality of his situation.The rail car is black from its constant loads,and itsladder iswell used and scuffed by continual climbing The most noticeable element ofpoverty ishis clothing His pants are threadbare andtorn attheknees Tostaywarm aboveandbelow the earth he has layered three coats,which are stretched and torn Everything contrastssharplywith the shinylunchpailthat glittersbrightly against the darknessofthescene.

Lange shows aman of sturdy build Through alow camera angle,she monumentalizes him and gives him an air of strength and presence This presence is enhanced by his direct eye contact with the camera.As Pare Lorentz notes,"Her people stand straight and look you in the eye.They have asimple dignity ofpeople who have leaned against the wind."The mandoesnothanghisheadinhumilityorshame.Rather,hisdirectedgaze forcesanequality.39

37 Sherwood Anderson, Puzzled America (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1935), 17

38 Daniel Dixon, "Dorothea Lange," Modern Photography, December 1952, 138

39 Lorentz, "Dorothea Lange: Camera with a Purpose," 67 See also Maurice Berger, "FSA:The Illiterate Eye (1985)," in How Art Becomes History: Essays on Art, Society, and Culture in Post-New Deal America (New York: Icon Editions, 1992), 7; Peter B Hales, Silver Cities: The Photography of American Urbanization, 1839-1915 (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1984), 196; Robert Disraeli, "The Farm Security

Miner at Consumers.

Miner's family in Consumers

Having symbolized the men ofthe mines with this photograph, Lange would nowturntotheir families.40 Shefound afamily in front ofasmallhomejust offthe main street. A narrow wooden plank over the snowdrawstheviewer'seye to the young woman and her little girl and boy.The mother looks at Lange curiously as her children play cautiously around her The house is similar to its neighbors,smallin size and pieced together with wooden boards and tarpaper. Unlike in many of ***' I'^S'i* &mk Lange's photographs of homesinConsumers,thissmallhousehasahuman counterpart.Sheshows the public an actual family and the conditions inwhich they were forced tolive.Inher notes sherecorded the frustration ofraisingafamily in this environment andthe"deterioratinginfluence onfamilies [of]these mining camps."41 In addition to the prostitution,disease,and drunken melees that plagued the coalcamps,the miners and theirfamilies had to fear the constant threat ofdisasterssuch asthe mine explosions ofWinter Quarters in 1900andCastleGatein1924.42

After photographing the family infront oftheir home,Lange withdrew a few feet and shot them crossing the boards over the snow and mud toward her. In afew steps the family would be standing on Consumer's mainstreet,andLangewouldnowshowthefamilywithintheir community environment. In the next photograph, the family stands on slushy Main

Administration," a review of FSA photography, Photo Notes (May 1940), in New Deal Network at http://www.newdeal.feri.org, accessed in October 2001

40 In her process of photographing the little family, Lange would work in a manner similar to that of her famous Migrant Mother series Focusing on one family helped her epitomize an entire situation Sec Curtis, Mind's Eye, chapter three

41 Lange, Field Notes, 24

42 Cannon, Life and Land, 4 See Allan Kent Powell, The Next Time We Strike: Labor in Utah's Coal Fields, 1900-1933 (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1985), chapters two and eight; J Eldon Dorman, Reminiscences, 52-53; and Helen Z Papanikolas, "Women in the Mining Communities of Carbon County," in Notarianni, ed., Carbon County.

Street.They have stopped andstare directly into thecamera.Incontrast tothemiserable homes lining the street, thefamily looks composed andneat.Themother's patterned dress contrasts sharply with theworn garmentsoftheminer.Infact,themother seems happy,andherlittledaughtersmiles affectionatelyatthecamera.ForLange,thisimagedid not equal thedesperation ofthe tarpapered shack, the grime ofMain Street, or the miseryintheminer'seyes

To capture their real situation—or, rather, the situation shewanted to portray—Lange had to create animage that highlighted the difficulties ofthefamily's circumstance The next photograph depicts the small family strugglingthrough thesnowandmudtoward thephotographer.Thisimage captures everythingLangeneeded.43 Astheymaketheirway up through theautomobile ruts, onesenses the real struggle ofliving inAmerica's coal fields. Lange makes it seem asifthey suffer from need astheirinadequate shoessink into thesnowandmud.Despite thecold,theyare outofdoorswithout coats.Thepleasant faces and smiles ofthe earlier photograph have turned into grimaces andmisery. Only the little boyinhismother's arms remains fixed on Lange andhercamera.Hisfrowning straight-forward gaze,like thatof theminer,connectsdirectlywiththeviewer

In thisphotograph Lange hascaptured theessence ofwhat shewanted to portray inConsumers Inhervision,this family hasbecome anarchetype for anypoor coal mining family anywhere. It echoes Sherwood Anderson'sobservationofasimilarsituation elsewhere:

There is grim poverty here It is a cold bleak day but, in the field here, at the edge of the mining town, there are bare-legged miners' children running around Their lips are blue with cold.They are ragged.They look underfed... Miners' wives go in and out of little shacks. These miners' wives lose their beauty early. There has been hard-bitten life going on for years in this country.44

43 This photograph could be a clear example of Lange's "help me—help you" approach. In looking at the entire series (especially the negative in Lange's private collection) and taking into account the layout of the town itself, it is fairly clear that Lange instructed the family to walk toward her Whether this violated her stated "hands-off" policy or not is a matter for a deeper examination. For opposing views, see Dixon, "Dorothea Lange," 68, and Curtis, Mind's Eye, chapter three

44 Anderson, Puzzled America, 8 In her quest to find complete images, Lange created prototypes, or even archetypes, that summed up an experience, an entire situation, or a general emotion. "Migrant

Strength, determination, and will to overcome their hardships may be seeninLange'slastportrait ofthefamily Inthis,the closestexamination of the family, the serious expressions are still present.The mother's face, in particular,revealsthestressofhersituationandatthesametimeimpliesthe strengthrequired to survive Lange createsthe mother asthe central figure thatkeepsthisfamilytogether.LikeMaJoadinSteinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, Lange's mother represents the"citadel ofthe family,"the place that could not be taken.45 Through her embrace, she symbolizes the courage and strengththatkeepsthefamily together.

From Consumers,Langetraveledsouthtohernext assignment,the documentation oftheWidtsoe Resettlement Project.When Lange arrived in Widtsoe,shefound atownalreadyontheedgeofdecayTodaythatdecayis almost complete.Wandering through the quiet streets, one can hardly imagine that this ghost town was once athriving community The hotels, stores,andchurcharenownothingbutpilesofweatheredlumberlying on primitive cementfoundations Thefewbuildingsthatremainstandprecariously,hollowremindersofthecity'sprosperityanditsturntoward ruin.

The town ofWidtsoe islocated in the highlands ofJohnsValley,just north ofBryce Canyon. It is avalley colored gray with sage and dotted withjuniper UnlikethatinthefertilevalleysoftheWasatchFront,thesoil inthishighvalleyisweakandsusceptibletoerosion.Despitethis,however, thefirstMormon settlersbegan comingto the areain 1876.The desire to settle the rather hostile environment ofWidtsoe was not based solely on the constant searchfor newlandbutwasalsodrivenbyasenseofspiritual destinyThe settlersofWidtsoewereamongthemanywho desiredtobuild up the "waste places of Zion" into anew corner of the kingdom even though official callsto colonize regions had ceased Commenting on this pioneer trait of Mormonism,Wallace Stegner writes of lands like Johns Valley,"It wasasanctuary,itwasarefuge Nobody elsewanted it, nobody but adetermined and God-supported people couldliveinit."He continues,"Settleitthen,in God'sname,andbuild the kingdom."46 Thiswas the attitudeofpromisethatthepeopleofWidtsoepossessed.Theybelievedthat they could settlethisareaand through God's help could turn itinto their own corner of Zion.This belief was further buoyed by Mormon apostle MelvinJ Ballard'spromisethatthevalleywouldbe aGarden ofEdenifits inhabitantskeptGod'scommandmentsandstayedoutofdebt.47

Mother" is the most obvious example In that photograph Lange used the mother and her three children to epitomize the plight of an entire migrant people See Margaret G.Weiss, "Recording Life-in-Process," Saturday Review, March 5,1966, found in Lange, The Making of a Documentary Photographer, 257.

45 John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1939; reprint, New York: Penguin Books, 1976), 95-96

46 Wallace Stegner, Mormon Country (NewYork: Bonanza Books, 1942), 51.

47 Brian Q Cannon, "Remaking the Agrarian Dream: The New Deal's Rural Resettlement Program in Utah" (Master's thesis, Utah State University, 1986), 20; Brian Q Cannon, "Struggle Against the Odds: Challenges in Utah's Marginal Agricultural Areas, 1925-39," Utah Historical Quarterly 54 (FaU 1986): 320.

See also Karl C Sandberg, "Telling the Tales and Telling the Truth: Writing the History of Widtsoe," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 26 (Winter 1993): 103-104 The town received the name of Widtsoe

Widtsoe Mormon church.

By 1920,Widtsoe had become athriving community with a population of more than 1,100.The city boasted two hotels, four stores, a post office, a Mormon church, a social < hall, and many houses. | There was even talk of § moving the county seat to the town At its peak, Widtsoe's grain crop was greater than that grown in the rest of Garfield County combined. One resident remembered that the "whole ofJohns Valley [was] awaving field ofgrain."AnotherWidtsoan, Quincy Kimball, rememberedplentiful farmsthatproducedpeas,beans,strawberries,lettuce, and"turnipsweighingsevenandeightpounds."48

JohnsValley,however,would prove hostile to the promise ofZion.The initial success eventually soured by the mid-1920s as changing climate cycles and soillimitations proved too much to bear Widtsoe's high elevation only allowed for a short growing season between harsh winters. Adding to the difficulties wereyear-round frosts thatplagued the harvests. After many taxingyears offarming, the once-ample soilbecame depleted ofitsnutrients PaulTaylor,who traveled toWidtsoe with Lange,recorded the recollections of one farmer,"This land used to raise forty bushels of wheat to the acre, but it won't now."The worsening circumstances impelled many citizens to abandon the town. One "stalwart young man" toldthecouple,"Myfather cameherewith$7,000,workedhard,andlostit all."49 The land had become so unprofitable that eventually 85 percent of the families were on relief.The city that had once had so much promise wasslowlybecomingaghost town.

No longer able to cope,the townspeople presented apetition to the government for federal aid in 1934 ByJuly 1,1935,Widtsoe was turned overto the RA asaresettlement project The primary goaloftheRA was the resettlement of the residents to farms across Utah where they could "gain agreater amount ofindependence,happiness,and achievement than anyothermannertheyhadeverbeenabletoobtain."ForTaylorthiswasan experiment thatremovedpeople"from landswhere theirfuture ishopeless

in 1917 in honor of John A. Widtsoe, an expert in dry-farming techniques and future apostle of the LDS church

48 Carr, Utah Ghost Towns, 122; Linda King Newell and Vivian Linford Talbot, The History of Garfield County (Salt Lake City: Utah Historical Society, 1998), 277-78; Salt Lake Tribune, May 3, 1938

49 Taylor, "Ground Up," 527

tootherswhereagoodlifeispossible."50

When Dorothea Lange arrived inWidtsoe in earlyApril 1936, Omer Mills,theregionalofficer oftheRA,hadlabeledthetowna"GreatWorry," andagentswere scramblingto find landfor the clients.51 The situation was growingprogressivelyworse Lange'spurpose incomingtoWidtsoewas to documenttheactionsofheragencyandtomakethecontroversial program lookasnecessaryaspossibleToaccomplishthis,shenotonly photographed theneedforresettlementbutalsocapturedthehuman experience ofresettlement Tocatchsuchexpressions,sheusedherexceptionalskillsand acute sympathetic perception,already demonstrated in Consumers,to document thepolaremotionsofanxiety/sorrowandhope.

To document the conditions of the resettlement Lange took many panoramas of the town and its environs,or,asLange called the area, the "purchase area."52 Each ofthephotographs emphasized thebleak landscape and local architecture that was already in decay,often ignoring structures that were in relatively good shape,such asthe home ofD.W Woodard, which stillstands today.53 Despite the arrival ofspring,the ground wasstill blanketedwith snow.AsshehaddoneinConsumers,shetookadvantage of theharshelementstoemphasizeandevenexaggeratethehostile conditions ofthetown.An example isthephotograph captioned"Farm Home,in the FSAlanduseproject purchasearea."Intheforeground ofthisimage,Lange emphasizesthebarrenfurrowsfillednotwithbuddingcropsbutwith snow The dilapidated home in thebackground appears no more productive and almost seems abandoned In such images,Lange accentuated the plight of thepeopleinWidtsoe.Herimagesaretestimoniesthatthesefamilies should bemovedtotheirnewfarmsandnottrappedinthisfrozen landscape

Invisuallyimplyingthepoverty ofafamily farm,thebackbone ofideal agrarian life,Lange sought to show thatAmerica's farm families were in desperateneed ofaid.Shedispelledthemyth thatpoverty didnot exist on the farm In her field book sherecorded the frustrations ofone unidentified resident:"Peoplejistbeensettin'herewaitin'andhopin'."54 Because of bureaucratic delay,thepeopleofWidtsoewerebeingforced tomakedo on farms that they would have to abandon instantly when the time for their move came Emotionally,they were torn between the hope oflooking to thefuture and,atthesametime,thepainoflettingthetowndecayinto the past.There was no reason to spend money on homes that they would be leavingin the nearfuture,homes thatwould be torn down in amatter of days,weeks,ormonths.

50 Cannon, "Remaking the Agrarian Dream," 144; Land Policy Circular (Washington, DC : Resettlement Administration, April 1936), 7;Taylor, "From the Ground Up," 526

51 Cannon, "Remaking the Agrarian Dream," 148

52 Caption, LC-USF34-001327-C

53 Carr, Utah Ghost Towns, 123

54 Lange, Field Notes, 27A Lange always tried to record as accurately as possible the verbal expressions of her subjects; consequently, the notes often take on a "folk speak" quality See Heyman, Celebrating the Collection, 98

Mother and daughter in Widtsoe.

In addition to the many photographs Lange took of theland,shemadeonly two images that focused solely on the townspeople. 5 5 However, the two photographs perfectly sum up the two contrasting emotions of resettlement: hope and agony The first photograph stands in sharp contrastto the restWhile most of the photographs mourn the resettlement of the town,thisoneradiates hope and optimismin the uncertain future.The photograph is of a young mother and daughter standing in the weathered doorway oftheirhouse.Theinvitingmother smilesdown ather daughter,who seemshappyandcontent Lange'ssubjectsarecleanandwell dressed.The mother standsin her apron and the daughter inherbib,suggestingthatthehomeinterioriscleanand ordered.56

Lange's longer-than-normal caption of the photograph reads: "Resettlement clients to be moved from the area to afarm in another county. Site not yet determined where they will have better land and a hopeful future Thesepeople havebeen in distress throughout the valley."57 ForLange,themother and daughterrepresentaghmmerofhope—a future that can only be obtained elsewhere—for the people ofWidtsoe The image iscarefully constructed propaganda that castsapositivelight on the actions ofthe RA The smiling faces represent atrust in the government anditsprograms.

For the second human portrait,Langephotographed an elderly woman walkingdown oneofWidtsoe's dirtroads.(Seepage39.)Shecaptioned the

55 There are others who appear in her photographs, but these are not close-up, intimate portraits Instead, those who do appear—postmistress Madge Young Nielson and an unidentified couple (who appear only in her personal negatives stored in the Oakland Museum)—are only a part of the general landscape of the city itself

56 Capturing women and their children in the doorways of their homes was a device commonly used by the photographers in the R A and later in the FSA For instance, compare Arthur Rothstein's similar yet opposing "Sharecropper's Wife and Child, Washington County, Arkansas, 1935," LC-USF33-002022-M4

See also Theodore Jung, LC-USF-33-4038-M1, and Ben Shahn, LC-USF-33-6

57 Caption, LC-USF-34-1323-C

photograph:"MormonWoman,anativeofDenmark receivingher first old agepay check."Ifthe family in the doorway symbolizes hope,the second reveals the agony ofthe town's failure.While the woman standing in the doorway isyoung,happy,and full oflife,the second isold and sad If the portrait oftheyoungfamily idealisticallyrepresentstheglowingfuture, the image ofthe secondwoman signifies the despair ofthe past Both fulfilled the propagandistic needs of the RA.The photograph of the old woman evokes the despair of these victims and seeks to garner support for their plight.The other offers the viewer hope for these"good"people through government intervention.

The older woman, whose name is Christine Maria Hansen Snyder—a Mormon convertwho traveledalonefrom Copenhagen toUtah atthe age offourteen58—is starklycentered intheforeground asshestands helplessly before Lange'scamera.The photograph,taken quicklywith Lange's smaller camera,revealsawomanwhosefaceandhandsareworn andwrinkled and whosehairiswhite.59 The snapofthelensseemstohavecapturedthe decisive moment when she appeared the saddest The aged woman, with her fur-collared coattightlybundled around her and herpurse in hand,stands in sharp contrast to the barren empty expanse behind her She,like the women and children of Consumers, is an example of the faultless poor whosuffernotbecauseoflazinessbutbecauseofforcesbeyondtheircontrol

The photograph ofthe Danish woman does not exude unbridled hope andoptimismforthefuture Rather,itrevealsthesadnessandlossinvolved in the removal.Her downcast eyes,frowning expression, and closed body languageillustrateawoman whose dignityandprideseemdamagedby the difficult circumstances.For more than thirty years,Snyder and her family fought against the elements to try to make thisareaflourish.Their efforts, however, were ultimately futile, as the area became hostile rather than replenishing.In Snyder one may sense,asBrian Cannon stated,the agony "generated during the aftermath of resettlement, disrupted traditional values such ashome,community,faith in God'spromises,and selfreliance foreconomic security."60

Her sorrow and loss are further accentuated by the fact that her first

58 Mabel Nielson and Audrie C Ford, Johns Valley: The Way We Saw It (Springville, UT: Art City Publishing Co., 1971), 217-18 After finding what I believed was a picture of Snyder in Nielson's and Ford's book, I was not certain whether it was the same woman Lange photographed Since then, two of her relatives, her grandson Leo Twitchell and his sister-in-law Marjorie Twitchell, have both told me through phone interviews that Lange's subject is indeed Snyder. Snyder and her family arrived in Johns Valley in 1905, and, in a sense, Snyder never left In 1939, she passed away and was buried in the small cemetery located just south of town The cemetery is one of the last surviving vestiges of the town itself It is regularly visited, and former Widtsoe town members are still buried in its dry ground today

59 Lange typically used a more cumbersome 4X 5 inch Graflex, but for quick shots she would sometimes use a 2 1/4X 2 1/4 For technical details on Lange's use of cameras and film, see Karin Becker Ohrn, Dorothea Lange and the Documentary Tradition (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, V. 72, and Daniel Dixon, "Dorothea Lange," 77

60 Cannon, Life and Land, 5

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

old-age assistance check isclenched tightly inherhands.61 Intheseventyseven-year-old Snyder, Lange shows awoman whoappears shamed,as Cannon states,bythe"stigma anddependence that cash relief carried in her small-town Mormon culture."62 ForChristine Snyder, this reluctantly accepted checkwasanabsolute necessity:Itrepresented heronlymeansof survival aswell astheloss ofherindependent pioneer spirit Her oncestronghands,whichhadhelpedeveryoneinhercommunity,couldnowno longer sustain her InUtah this attached stigma wasstatewide When the SocialSecurityActwasfirstinitiatedinUtah,only504outof1,000 people eligibleactuallyacceptedtheirchecks.63

In theopinion oftheRA,theWidtsoe resettlement wasa tremendous success.Withit,thegovernment successfully accomplished itsgoals,removing thefarmers tobetter agricultural areas,providing loans tohelp them payforbetter farms,andlettingtheland recoverfrom yearsofoveruse.L. H Hauter oftheRA regional office inBerkeley consideredWidtsoe a "showcaseproject"andamodelforfuture programs.Infact,theRAwasso proudoftheproject'sfinalsuccessthatitcalendaredtoursofthesite.64

Widtsoe wasnotonly ashowcase within theRAbutitalso became a showcase forthenation.Itwastodemonstrate toAmerica that thePJ\'s Resettlement Programwasefficient andeffective.65 InApril 1937,onlyone month after thetown's complete abandonment,anarticle that appearedin the progressive magazine Nation's Business included three of Lange's photographs.WrittenbyKhyberForrester,itwasentitled"MercyDeathfor Towns:WidtsoeUtahTakenofftheMap."Inessence,thearticlewasbotha justification oftheproject andapublic disclosure ofone oftheRA'smost controversialprograms Forresterbegan,

If a town isn't a going concern and can't be made a profitable business institution for the benefit of its citizens—wipe it off the map That's the latest technique in Utah where the town of Widtsoe, in Garfield County, has been put out of its misery much as a kindly owner might chloroform an ailing dog Whether it may set a precedent to be followed elsewhere is, of course, uncertain but the abandonment of Widtsoe is significant because it shows that a communit y can be closed if it fails to justify its existence.66

"Assistance to those age sixty-five or older began in the 1936 fiscal year Utah was the first in the Union to receive all the benefits of the Social Security Act; see Wayne Hinton, "The Economics of Ambivalence: Utah's Depression," Utah Historical Quarterly 54 (September 1986): 282-85; see also Statutes at Large of the United States ofAmerica,Vo\. XLIX part 1 (January 1935-June 1936), 620-23

62 Cannon, Life and Land, 6 See also Lowry Nelson, The Mormon Village: A Pattern and Technique of Land Settlement (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1952), 124

63Bluth and Hinton, "The Great Depression," 483

64 Cannon, "Remaking the Agrarian Dream," 130; Garfield County News, June 4, May 28, 1937 Widtsoe was not the only site scheduled for tours on June 11 and 12, 1937; caravans also were to visit the Tropic Dam During the tours, local townspeople and R A and state officials, including Governor Blood, were to receive an "explanation of all costs and advantages" of the RA's work Despite the interest, however, the tours were postponed and later canceled

65 For those in Widtsoe, the program, as stated briefly above, was anything but smooth See Sandberg, "Telling the Tales," 103.

66 Khyber Forrester, "Mercy Death for Towns: Widtsoe Utah Taken off the Map," Nation's Business 25 (April 1,1937): 64

Absent from the article are the pictures ofthe human consequences of removal.67 Lange's intimate portraits of the hopeful young mother or the sorrowful Christine Snyder do not appear.Such photographs were probably carefully edited out To support the positive stance on resettlement, Forrester or the editor chose photographs that removed the possibility of sympathy and that showed aghost town instead of aradical experiment dealingwith human beings.68 Itwas,asKarlSandbergargues,an outsiders' view that saw onlypoverty in place ofthe way theWidtsoans saw themselves—hardworkingandhonest.69

FromWidtsoe, Lange headed east to the small Mormon hamlet of Escalante,astrugglinglittletown thatwasenduringthelingeringeffects of the GreatDepression.Shewasno doubt curiouswhether Escalante would fallto afate similartoWidtsoe's TheEscalante community would provide Lange an opportunity to view how the small Mormon towns scattered throughout her region were surviving the prolonged trials of the tumultuous 1930s.

There are many reasons why Lange could have chosen Escalante The first was that Escalante was a"Potential Irrigation Resettlement Area,"a fact shereported in aletter to Stryker.70 Escalante wasalsothe site where heryoungfriend,theartistandwandererEverettReuss,hadlastbeen seen oneandahalfyearsearlier.71 Additionally,Escalantewasaperfect casestudy for the same two reasons that had originally appealed to sociologist (and, later,RJVcolleague) LowryNelsonin 1923:itstypicalMormon characteristicsand itsisolation.72 The contemporaryWorks Progress Administration Guide to the State termedEscalantean"Oldfashioned Mormon community" where local ecclesiastical authorities still presided as civic leaders.

"There is one figure present in Forrester's article: Madge Young Nielson, the postmistress Unlike in the two portraits discussed above, Lange captured her at a distance, and the photo does not reveal the emotions of the situation See photo on page 2

68 This experimentation is precisely what A F Bracken, Utah's land planning consultant for the National Resource Board, hoped to avoid when he suggested that the R A take control of the Widtsoe situation. He understood that resettlement was "experimenting with human individuals." See A.F. Bracken, State Report on Land Use Studyfor Utah (Salt Lake City?: n.p., 1935), 145.

69 Sandberg, "Telling the Tales," 101

70 Lange to Stryker, fall 1936, Roy Stryker Collection, University of Louisville According to A F Bracken, a partial reclamation of the land was at least necessary; see A F Bracken, Utah Report on the Extent and Character of Desirable Adjustment in Rural Land—Use and Settlement Area (Salt Lake City?: n.p., 1934), 23. Escalante historian Jerry Roundy, however, believes that resettlement was never a true concern or option for the town; Jerry Roundy to the author, May 11, 2001, e-mail transcript in possession of the author

71 See W L Rusho, Everett Ruess:A Vagabond for Beauty (Salt Lake City: Gibbs-Smith Publisher, 1983), 113-15, 118, 136, 182 Not only was Ruess a friend of both Dorothea Lange and her husband Maynard Dixon but Lange also became a motherly figure to the young man

72 Nelson was a friend as well as a fellow RA employee; see Lowry Nelson, In the Direction of His Dreams: Memoirs (NewYork: Philosophical Library, 1985), 236-69, and Lowry Nelson, The Mormon Village: A Pattern and Technique of Land Settlement (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1952), 83 Nelson's research was a time study, with his initial visit to Escalante in 1923 He returned in 1950 to report how the town had changed through the depression,World War II, etc

Couple in Escalante.

Escalante was also isolated from the outside world by both distance and topography AsLangelearned,State Road 23 was the only way of getting to the town; in her field notes she commented that Escalante had only"1 road"in orout and it was"83 miles to nearest R.R."73

Despiteitsvisiblesignsof

strength,Escalante suffered during the Great Depression. In the words of one resident that Lange recorded,Escalante had endured "One depression after another."By 1935 about two-thirds of the residents were receiving government reliefWhen LangearrivedinApril 1936,the community was still struggling from the plummeting price of livestock, heavy debt, the effects oftheTaylor GrazingAct,and alack of cashflow.In addition, the town was also reeling from the effects ofthe 1934 drought. Lange's field notes reflect asense ofneed and urgency.Twicein her notesshe recorded theneedforalocaldamtohelpwith thefluctuations inyearlyrainfalls and eventheneedfora"cannin (sic) factory."74

Despiteitsproblems,thetownsurvived.Likeotherstrugglingcommunities, Escalante possessed adefiant spirit ofself-sufficiency and asense of communityaswellasapermanence thatwasnotvisibleinLange'searlier Utah assignments By working together, the residents were able to overcome theirhardships.Ifmembers ofthecommunity were lacking,otherscame to their aid, ensuring that no one in the community went hungry.75 When Lange arrived, the hardships of the depression were evident, and yet her photographs do not dwell on the town's difficulties. Rather, the photographsshowapeoplewhoweresuccessfully enduringthe depression.

Thispermanence isillustrated in the three people Lange photographed for the RA's files The first, a ninety-four-year-old immigrant from Denmark, is shown standing defiantly in front of ahumble old home,

73 WPA Utah Writers' Program, Utah: A Guide to the State (New York: Hastings House, 1941), 340; Lange, Field Notes, 26

74 Lange, Field Notes, 26—27; Jerry Roundy, 'Advised Them to Call the Place Escalante" (Springville, Utah: Art City Publishing, 2000), 253-56, 262-63; Nelson, The Mormon Village, 110 In 1934 Utah averaged nine inches of average rainfall, four inches below normal. Nationwide, rainfall was only 35 percent of normal in that same year Utah fared slightly better at 51 percent of normal, but combined with record—breaking heat, the drought of 1934 was particularly devastating; see Leonard Arrington, "Utah's Great Drought of 1934," Utah Historical Quarterly 54 (Summer 1986): 245-64.

75 Cannon, Life and Land, 6; Roundy, "Advised Them to Call the Place Escalante," 253; Roundy correspondence

dressedin his Sunday clothes.Like thisman, Main Street and an irrigation another elderly couple she photographed ditch, Escalante, 1936. symbolizes the pioneer virtues of the town. Lange notes that both husband and wife were eighty-five years old and converts to the LDS church from South Africa.76 Through Lange's photographs these three people become living examples ofEscalante's trials, longevity,and endurance.Their well-kept "church" clothing demonstrates their dedication and diligence to their religion Together they reveal the strengthofthe community.

Inanotherjoint portrait,the same couple sitbefore abrick wall In this secondportraitLangereiteratesthe qualitiesofthe couple—their strength, hope,age,and vitality But also,by including abrick edifice,Lange highlights the permanence of the town itself.The brick wall creates a drastic contrast to the worn wooden buildings ofWidtsoe or the tarpaper of Consumers.Escalante,likeWidtsoe,was afrontier town, and yet Lange seemstobesuggestingthat,unlikeWidtsoe,thissmalltownwillsurvive—a factthatshecorrectly predicted.

In herwork inEscalante,Lange wasnot only to show apeople defiant tothedepression;shealsotooktheopportunity to emphasizethe elements of the town that were distinctively Mormon Lange was already quite familiar with Mormon settlements,More specifically, she was particularly

76All of the information about this couple is from Lange's caption for photograp h LC-USF-34-001343-C Jerry Roundy questions whether Lange was correct in the couple's origin; he has never heard of any early residents from South Africa Additionally, Lange mentions in the caption of another photograph of the same woman (LC-USF34-001345-C) that she was the first schoolteacher in Escalante If that is the case, the woman would be Jane Coleman, who was not from South Africa Roundy correspondence

The Mormon church in Escalante. familiar with the small communities of southern Utah.Through her travels she knew the arid terrain, the towns, and the people of these Mormon communities She knew of their strengths and the economic and social resiliency of these settlements, and, like other travelers, she knew the characteristic signs of Mormon townlife.77

In hisbook The Mormon Landscape, Richard Francaviglia outlines ten elements common to the Mormon

town:wide streets,roadside irrigation ditches, barns inside the town, unpainted farm buildings, open fields around the town, hayderricks,the"Mormon fence"madeofcrudeunpainted components,a distinctive domestic architecture style,ahigh percentage ofbrick homes, and the Mormon ward chapel.Lange photographed nine ofthe ten elementsinEscalantealone Fromthelayoutofthecitytoitswidestreets and irrigation ditches,her photographs readlike visual descriptors ofa typical Mormon community In fact,in the outline she sent to Stryker,she summarized her work in Escalante as"A study of the Mormon Village of Escalante,Utah—Farmvillagecommunity."78

Lange'spurposeindocumentingtheMormon landscapemusthavebeen to enrich thefiles oftheRA Strykerhadhoped thatinaddition to showing the poor and destitute his team could also record every aspect of American culture His goal was to show "Americans to America"—the

77 In 1933, Lange and her husband Maynard Dixon had spent two months traveling through southern Utah They lived with Mormons, traveled through their towns, and even left their boys with a Mormon family in Toquerville. I submit that her vision of Utah in 1936 was directly shaped by this earlier visit to the state For Lange's thoughts of and experiences in Utah, see Sandra S Phillips, et al., Dorothea Lange: American Photographs (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1994), 32, and Meltzer, Dorothea Lange, 78 See also Dorothea Lange, Daniel Dixon, and Ansel Adams, "Three Mormon Towns," Life, September 6, 1954, 91-100

78 Richard Francaviglia, The Mormon Landscape: Existence, Creation, and Perception of Unique Image in the American West (New York: AMS Press Inc., 1978), 67-68ff; Lange to Stryker, fall 1936, Roy Stryker Collection.The only indicator of the Mormon landscape that Lange did not photograph was the hay derrick, but according to Francaviglia, Mormon derricks are not common to the Escalante area anyway. Russell Lee would photograph a derrick, or "Mormon hay Stacker," for the FSA four years later in Box Elder County (LC-USF-34-37288-D).

migrantsinCalifornia,thebakerinTexas,thesteelworkerin Pennsylvania, andtheMormonfarmerinUtah.79

Unlike Consumers andWidtsoe,where littlenow remains,itispossible inEscalantetoseetheextenttowhichLange'sworkisaninterpretation of the town andnot amirror ofitsreality.Inthatsense,Escalante allows one to seethe extent ofLange'svisualediting Shedidnot showEscalanteasa young,busy,and industrious town. Rather, she emphasized the town's permanence anditsMormon pioneerheritage Thesetwovirtueswere not wronglyassignedtothecity;theyaredefinitely apartofthetown'sidentity. YetinLange'sportraitofthetownthesetwoqualitiescametodominateall other aspects.With thisfocus,Lange'sEscalantebecomes decidedly slanted andincomplete.

Overall,herportrait ofEscalantemakesitappearempty and abandoned. In "Approach to the Church" and "Main Street and town center," the streets are completely bare and the town buildings are completely silent. Main Street and its stores appear more like a ghost town than a town survivingthedepression Another Langephotograph,takenin 1951,shows the same church she photographed during 1936.80 This 1951 image is teemingwithlife andactivityasscoresofchildrenparade down the gravel sidewalks ofMeeting House Hilltoward Main Street,but inLange's 1936 photographs all of this activity iscompletely removed Ironically,the city was anything but empty in 1936.Only four years later,in 1940,the city reacheditshighestpopulation ever,withatotalof1,161 residents.81

When theresidentssawLange'simages,theywerevery displeased Delia Christiansen, a longtime resident, remembers being angry about how Langeportrayedhertown "Shemadeuslooklikethepooresttownin the world,"shesays."The town wasdamnmad.Ifyou starved to death itwas yourownfault." 82

Not only did Lange portray the town asnearly deserted but she also showeditasold Infact,herportrait ofEscalantefocuses onlyonthe older pioneer generation; the three people she photographed for the RA/FSA fileswere allage eighty-five or older.Ironically,atthe time,73percent of the town was age thirty-four or younger. 83 Lange's selection ofhomes to

79 Roy Stryker and Nancy Wood, In This Proud Land: America 1935-1943 as Seen in the FSA Photographs (NewYork: Graphic Society, 1973), 9; Russell Lee,"Pie Town, N M.," US Camera, October 1941, 40

80 This photograph could have been taken when Lange returned to do preliminary work for her Guggenheim Award For this award, she looked at Utopian religious communities such as the Mormon settlements, Amana colonies, and the Hutterites. See Phillips, et al., Dorothea Lange: American Photographs, 79.

81 Nelson, The Mormon Village, 95

82 Delia Christiansen, interview by the author, August 1999, Escalante, Utah; notes in possession of the author The people of Escalante saw Lange's images in an unknown publication that I have yet to find. What is interesting is that townspeople like Christiansen knew exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned the "depression photographs." With Mrs Christiansen I barely mentioned the photographs before she told me all about them in clear detail

83 Nelson, The Mormon Village, 116 The photographs of Bishop Harvey Bailey, the only younger member of the town Lange photographed, remained buried in her private collection and were not sent to Washington, D C During his brief stay in Escalante, Everett Ruess noted the many residents his own age

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

photograph may also be called into question.At the time,and even now, Escalante had anumber ofwell-built red brick homes bordering its wide streets.These houses,most ofwhich were built before 1910,were finely crafted with ornate carpentry and walls often several bricks thick.84 But Lange focused on homes of an older generation. Instead of showing the bestthetownhadtooffer,sheshowedthetownthewayshepicturedit,as apioneertown,oldanddeserted—notthevibranttownitwas.

LangewastoreturntoUtahasagovernmentphotographer ononly one more occasion,inAugust 1938.Atthetimeofherreturn,thenatureofthe Historical Section had fundamentally changed Instead offocusing on the poverty ofAmerica'sruralpopulation,which Strykerfeared was producing a false impression of farm life,he decided that his group should look at what was right inAmerica.Stryker wanted to show anAmerica that was not defeated by the depression; he hoped to produce apositive "visual accountofhowAmerica'sfarmerslive,work,play,eat,andsleep."85

Lange'slastofficialimageofUtahisinkeepingwiththisnewfocusTakenin the vicinity ofSpringdale,Lange's caption reads,"Utah farm family in the orchard atthe peach harvest."(Seepage 3.)The image shows afamily surroundedbytheirharvest,escapingtheAugustheatbysittingintheshade.They appearclean,prosperous,andcontent—ifnothappy.Theirprosperityisaccentuatedbytheamplebasketsofpeachesthatfilltheforeground ofthe photograph.Inall,thephotographisafarcryfromher1\Aworkdonein1936.The SpringdalefamilyisastunningcontrasttothesmallfamilyinConsumers This isprosperity,notpoverty.The lifeless landscapes ofWidtsoe arehere replaced with animage ofharvest The photograph seems to suggest that Roosevelt's NewDealdidwhatitpromised;itrestoredprosperityandgoodtimes.

Lange's 1936 photographs,however,have come to symbolize the Great Depression in Utah.Textbooks of Utah history contain the images of Christine Marie Hansen Snyder and the mining family ofConsumers.86 Yet hers was aselective portrait. Each photograph, whether of Consumers, Widtsoe, or Escalante,was carefully crafted to communicate her own personalaltruisticideologyandtheneedsoftheRA/FSA.Theseportraitsmay nothaveadequatelyrepresentedtheactualsituationorthecompleterealityof thearea,yettheyrepresentavisionthat,likethatofallphotographers whether in 1936or2002,wasdesignedtoconveyacertainmessagetoitsviewer

He had many young companions and even noted that if he were to stay much longer he might have "fallen in love with a Mormon girl"; see Rusho, Vagabondfor Beauty, 176-80.

84 Christiansen interview In photographing the church on the hill, Lange would have had two elegant homes directly at her back.Yet Lange ignored these homes and instead photographed the older log homes that were some of the first homes to be built in the area; see Sheila Woolley, Walking Tours of Pioneer Homes and Barns, brochure published by Daughters of Utah Pioneers and the City of Escalante.

85 Hartley E Howe, "Have You Seen Their Faces?" Survey Graphic 29 (April 1940): 236.This change was boosted by Stryker's connection with Robert Lynd, co-author of Middletown. See Hurley, Portrait of a Decade, 96-98, and Edward Steichen, "The FSA Photographers," US Camera 1 (1939): 46-60

86 See S George Ellsworth, Utah's Heritage (Salt Lake City: Peregrine Smith Books, 1992), and Alexander, Utah: The Right Place, 309ff See also Utah Historical Quarterly 68 (Spring 2000): 98ff

Hecatomb at Castle Gate, Utah, March 8, 1924

By PHILIP F NOTARIANNI; photos from the collection of Bill and Albert Fossat

Two explosions rocked the silence on Saturday morning, March 8, 1924,in the coal-mining town of Castle Gate,Utah. The entire work force of 171 men "were victims of two violent explosions that shot through the mine turning the main tunnels into gigantic cannon barrels."1 Frantic townspeople, hearing and feeling the reverberations,hurried to the portal of the Number 2 mine. Soon, rescuers rushed to the site from other Carbon County towns to embark onadifficult task Intherescueprocess,oneotherman succumbed to the deadly gas,bringing the total dead to 172 Grieving widows, children left without fathers,and distraught family,friends, and neighbors remainedtoattendfunerals oraccompanybodiestootherlocations.Graves dug in the cemetery at Castle Gate peppered the landscape,and wooden coffins were stacked in readiness near makeshift morgues The entire site playedasagruesomereminderofthedangersofcoalminingandthe frailty ofhuman life.

Thisphotographic essay,comprised ofimagesfrom the collection ofBill andAlbert Fossat ofHelper,Utah,focuses specifically on the aftermath of theexplosion The rarelyseenphotos,manyfirstpublishedinthe Salt Lake Tribune, help to chronicle scenes ofindividuals gathered in hopeful-fearful anticipation,themine entry andrecoveryprocess,funeral preparations,and burial procedures.The images speak for themselves. Captions assist in providing context and interpretation.Excerpts from the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune providecontemporaryaccountsofthe disaster.

Philip F Notarianni is the public programs coordinator for the Utah State Historical Society

1 Allan Kent Powell, The Next Time We Strike: Labor in Utah's Coal Fields, 1900-1933 (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1985), 141 This volume contains the best overall account of the Castle Gate explo-

CROWDS GATHERING IN HOPEFUL ANTICIPATION

"The one street of this little coal mining town todaywascrowdedwith relativesandfriends ofthe 175 [numberinitiallybelieved in the mine] miners entombed in No 2 mine of the Utah Fuelcompany."2

2 Salt Lake Tribune, March 10, 1924

3 Deseret News, March 8, 1924.

4 Salt LakeTribune, March 10, 1924

"A majority of the men entombed in mine No.2 of the Utah Fuel company at Castlegate by explosions Saturday will be taken out alivein the event they were notintheimmediate vicinity ofthe blasts,isthe belief ofJ.Parley Russel, assistant engineerofthecompany."3

"At portal No. 1were two young girls about 10 or 12 years of age and in their arms they had asmall baby Their father and older brother were among those listedasinthemine."4

Miners and company officials quickly gathered at the mine's entrance.

Townspeople sought answers and gathered to hear any word of the situation.

"On the front steps of many of the miners' homes sat throughout most of today women and children who had loved ones in the mine. One young woman with a small baby in her arms was walking about town most of this morning and this afternoon until she was taken by friends, crying 'I want to go to him.'Itwas explained her husbandwasinthemine."5

"Dawn found the small one main street of the town teemingwith anxious friends and relatives ofthe men still remaining in the mine The bulletin board upon which the names of the bodies recovered are posted immediately upon identification and which is placed in the recreational hall was surroundedbyanxiousones."6

Salvation Army personnel quickly set up tents to aid in the rescue attempt and in any other way possible. The Salt Lake Tribune identified these tents as "temporary quarters for bodies of victims."

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY ENTRY INTO THE MINE AND THE RECOVERY PROCESS

"Hundreds were gathered around the Knights of Pythias hall, the temporary morgue, and at the entrance of the Castlegate canyon, in which the mine is located and which has been closed to all but those engaged in rescue or relief work, mine officials and newspaper " 7 men

"The explosion blew an 800-pound steel door at the entrance of the escapeway a distance ofhalfamile across Castlegate canyon.Too,there were timbers and other refuselittered about."8

"A smallmule hitched to six coal cars was plodding its way into the depths when the explosions occurred.The concussion lifted the mule bodily,threwtheanimal over five of the empty cars and depositeditdead,inthesixth car....The carswere not dislodged from the tracks and the mule bore scarcely no marksofviolence."9

7 Salt LakeTribune, March 10, 1924

8 Ibid

9 Deseret News, March 13, 1924

Mine rescue crews arrived and tested for methane gas before entering the mine.

The explosion indeed acted as agiant cannon barrel, hurling debris and poles out of the mine to be scattered on the mountainside.

Ibid., March 10,1924

HECATOMB AT CASTLE GATE

"As the day of feverish rescue work and bitter anxietywore on,itbecame more and more apparent that only a miracle will allow any of the 175men to getoutalive Officials ofthe company and rescue leaders have virtually givenuphope."10

Crews of rescue workers amid crowds and makeshift tents prepare to embark on a dangerous journey.

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

"As sweating miners with lamp-lit caps emerged from the shadows of the tunnel with their comrades' bodies, up abovethemontheroad,a hundred yards away, this morning stood for atime a group of wailing women, wives of alien miners who lifted their appeals for mercy totheheavens.

"O dolor mia, o dolor mia [ohmypain,omypain], cried Italians,whileAustrians and Serbians wept out their griefintheirowntongues.

"It became necessary to send them home; their unrestrained sorrow was too contagious."11

Rescue workers may have entered the mine with some optimism, but they emerged exhausted and disappointed.

11 Salt Lake Tribune, March 11, 1924

Horse-drawn coal cars exited the mine carrying what remains of miners could be recovered, as well as debris from the explosion.

"The sevenbodies recovered and brought to the morgue up to noon were black from poisonous gas. The two unidentified were minus headsandotherwise mutilated."12

Every able-bodied man, both miner and company official, helped wherever needed. The manhole of the mine became blackened by the explosion. Surface holes were dug to let murderous methane gas escape.

HECATOMB AT CASTLE GATE

FUNERAL PREPARATIONS

"Castle Gate's community house and recreational center, the largest building in this small mining camp, holds for the last time all that is mortal of the men who in the years past entered into the festivities for which it was erected Thebuilding,consistingofa largeauditorium,library and other smaller rooms, is directly across the street from the Knights of Pythias building, used by the coal company as the temporary morgue.Bodies recovered at mine No.2 are removed in conveyances to the morgue and there are fixed for burial As soon as the bodies have been placed in coffins they are removed to the auditorium ofthe'hall'there to rest until final arrangements arecompleted for the burialofthevictims."13

*W:

Bodies in caskets were transported in large wooden boxes. Stacks of these crates presented a stark visual reminder of the magnitude of the disaster.

"All day Tuesday and Wednesday hundreds ofpeople have visited the morgue. In the amusement hall the dance floor ... isfilled with caskets ofvarious shades and colors.Many of the women have become hysterical and havehadtobeledaway from the caskets of husbands and sons asthey have been permitted in some instances to look at the faces of their loved ones To prevent any possible confusion and excitement only afew persons at a time have been allowed in the temporary morgue."14

"During the morning the Y.M.C.A. building was prepared for another morgue while ropes are being stretched about the entire morgue district and guards are being stationed to keep thosewho areonly morbidly curiousaway.

"Establishment of the identities of the bodies has been onlytoo difficult. Most ofthem havebeen so blown tobitsthatitisonlybydental work,orsome thing familiar that only a relative would know that their identities have been fixed All of the men carried brass identity checksinthepockers [pockets].In many instances these havebeenblownaway."15

14 Salt Lake Tribune, March 11, 1924

13 Deseret News, March 10, 1924

Makeshift morgues appeared in various locations. Halls owned or used by Castle Gate social and fraternal organizations served as such places

Caskets were readied for funerals at the amusement hall and loaded onto trucks for afinal journey to the cemetery. Truck processions took the bodies of Greek miners to the cemetery in nearby Price.

"As afuneral carand amail truck, impressed into the somber service, have alternatedduringthedayin their tragicjourneysfrom mine to morgue, the town has watched their comings with ever recurrent fear - fear on the part of nearly everyone that amember ofthe family or afriend will be found at thejourney's end

"Yet every time one of these carriers of death came halting at the morgue door the tear-eyed throng would pressabout untilmen of the American Tegion were enlisted asguardians to hold thecrowdin check.

"Thereafter the waiting people hurried at each new visitation of the hearse to read the growing list of identified deadpostedin the lobby of the postoffice near by."16

"Additional coffins, likewise, were ordered by express from Salt Lake City as the carload which arrived early Monday night was entirely exhausted by 4 o'clock Tuesdaymorning."17

BURIAL

"Miners whose homes and families arein Castlegate will beburied in thelocal cemetery, where more than 100 graveshavealreadybeen prepared.The local cemetery willbe dividedinto plots for the various nationalities at the request ofrelatives,anda number of requests have come from the relatives of Greek miners that they be buriedinPrice."18

"Asnowplanned,funerals of the victims who are to be buried in the Castlegate cemetery, aplot of ground immediately within the working confines of the illfated mine will be confined to short services at the graves.

"Officials Monday night made arrangements for the dividingofthecemeteryplot intosectionsandburying the members of each of the nationalities represented in thelistofvictimsin separate sections.Manyvictims,however, will not be buried in the cemetery here but will be removed by relatives to other parts of the country for interment."19

Workers hurriedly dug some 125graves in the town cemetery, considerably more than needed. Many bodies were sent to other communities or abroad for burial.

1 Salt Lake Tribune, March 11,1924

' Deseret News, March 11,1924

HECATOMB AT CASTLE GATE

"Funerals for local miners who have been removed from the mine thus far will be held this afternoon, and they will be buried in the City cemetery. Ministers of various denominations have volunteered their services andwillconduct the funerals held here.The company has made arrangements for getting the required number of caskets, and two carloads have already arrived here Morewillbebroughthereas theyareneeded.The funerals willbeheldassoonaspossible to avoid congestion, as the facilities here for taking care of bodies are limited The company officials have decided that while itwill be impossible to bury all the local men at one time,large funerals will be held, taking careofasmanyaspossible."20

"And out on the hillside, almost over the tunnels where lost miners now lie dead, graves were dug to give them places for their eternalrest."21

Mourners converged on the Castle Gate cemetery to pay their last respects to family, friends, neighbors, and fellow miners.

Senator

Orval

Hafen

and the Transformation of Utah's Dixie

By DOUGLAS D ALDER

Bytheyear2002Utah'sDixie hasbecome prosperous.Eleven golf courses, four national parks, and several national monuments nearby draw visitors from the whole world to enjoy the redrock scenery, the sunshine, and the clear skies Numerous restaurants and hotels accommodate them,asdo community parks,trails,and a major state park.The area is home to thousands of retirees who reside in commodious homes and/or condominium complexes.National and international visitors come regularly,some to special eventslikethe St. George Marathon,the HuntsmanWorld Senior Games,or the DixieArts Festival Others come to celebrations,cultural attractions,and conventions,or they simplycometoenjoythemagnificent surroundings.1

Fewwhovisitinthisdecadeorwho movetheirresidencetothispopular retirement area know that a century ago life in their chosen place was bleak.Then,the residentsstruggled to support theirfamilies and could not provide employment opportunities for their grown children, who were often obliged to move away.Second generation out-migration was the norm.

How did this amazing transition to in- Orval Hafen as a state senator in migration and abundance occur? How did 1957.

Douglas D Alder is professor emeritus and past president at Dixie State College in St George He serves in the Library Archive, collecting documents relating to the area, and is writing a history of the college.

1 Southwest Utah has been called "Dixie" since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) established the Cotton Mission there in 1861.

theblazingheatthatinthepastpersecutedtheresidentsbecometheattractivesunshine that drawspeople today? How didwaterprojects develop to support theexpansion?How didtheisolationthatlimitedtheearlysettlers give way to an interstate highway system and amajor commuter airline headquartered in St. George? How did Dixie become the home of a substantial college? Many rural Utah towns aspired to such development WhydidithappeninUtah'sWashington County?

One waytounderstand thisamazingtransformation storyisto examine the lives of the key players in the twentieth century,when the austerity gradually gavewayto opportunity These included people likeEdward H Snow,AnthonyW Ivins,JosephA.Nicholes,William Barlocker,and Orval Hafen The latter was born in 1903 and lived until 1964,bridging the timespan between austerity and the new Dixie,which took root in the 1960sandblossomedinthe 1970sandbeyond Fortunately,hekeptajournalofthe 1934-64years,givingusafirsthand chronicle.

When OrvalHafen graduatedfrom lawschoolin 1929,hehad achieved arespectable escape from his childhood home country,theparched desert of Utah's Dixie.He had taken the high road: college at BrighamYoung University,then work inWashington,D.C.,while taking night courses at George Washington Law School, and thereafter alaw degree from the University ofCalifornia,Berkeley The roadtosuccesswasopentohim In thejournal that captured his entire adult life,he commented,"When I went awaytolawschooltheonlythingIhad decided definitely wasthatI wouldnotcomebackheretopractice,andhereIcame."2

Like many of his compatriots, Hafen left Dixie because economic opportunitiesweresolimited Employment inLosAngelesandeveninLas Vegas,where the Boulder Dam was under construction, drew scores of young people from Dixie They abandoned subsistence farming and the limited cattleand sheepindustry in anarid land infavor ofindustrial and businessopportunitiesinthosealluringplaces.

Joseph A Nicholes,president of Dixie College,had his eye on young OrvalHafen,wantingtoforestall suchaloss.He solicitedthelaw student's help while he was still inWashington, D C, and then pled with him to comehome asanattorneyandprovidetemporaryleadership ofa fledgling farmers'cooperative formed to market agriculturalproduce effectively. He appealedto Orval'sloyalty,arguingthattheareaneededhishelp.Orvalwas persuaded to come.Estimating the potential ofsuch marketing and other ventures,Hafen wrote,"Our people will be happier and more contented; theywillhave enough ofanincome to atleastprovide thenecessities,and perhaps afew ofthe luxuries oflife They can start to liveinstead ofjust exist.Theywilldevelopandbuildindustrieswhichwillprovide opportuni-

2 Orval Hafen, Orval Hafen journal, volume I, 69, October 8, 1935 A copy of this journal is privately held by the family; access to the original, located in the Harold B Lee Library, Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, is restricted.

ties for their children,who now have to go "Airview of St. George," Utah Art awaytofindalivelihood."3

Suchastatementcoulddescribeaspirations c 1930s. in much of rural Utah in the 1930s, but Hafen knew that conditions inWashington County had been grim for decades;the desert climate did not make agricultural improvements seem verypromising HavinglivedinProvoandthen onbothU Scoasts,Hafen realizedthatlifeelsewhere,evenduringthedepression,wasnotasaustereas itwasinDixie.He commentedinhisjournalthattherewasbut$3million assessed valuation in the whole county of 7,000 people, about $430 per person. 4

The temporary assignment with the cooperative experiment brought Hafen back to his homeland, not because he wanted to be there but becausethereweresomanyneedstobemet.Withinthefirstthreeyearshe became city attorney, county attorney,president ofthe chamber of commerce, secretary of the Pioneer Protection and Investment Company, member ofthe countylibraryboard,member ofthe county seedand feed loan committee, member of the LDS stake presidency,5 member of the Dixie College Board ofTrustees,Republican county chairman, and vice

3 Ibid., I, 9.This is from his introduction, written August 5,1934

4 Ibid., I, 16 From the introduction

5 He was only twenty-seven and still single—unusually young for someone appointed to this high church position

SENATOR ORVAL HAFEN

Project photo by Bob Jones,

president ofthe St George Building Society,allwhile maintaining a law practice He obviouslyhadurgentlyneeded skills Hisreturn alsomay have been influenced by the great crash of 1929,which limited opportunities elsewhere, and certainly his bachelorhood was a significant factor that received his attention, ashe continued to pursue a relationship he had begun before leavingfor law school He finally convinced Ruth Clark of Provo to become hisbride in 1934 She did soon the understanding that theywouldnotstayinDixie.

However,whatbegan asaone-year temporary assignment turned intoa lifetime in Dixie—one in which he and Ruth often wondered if they wouldhavebeenwisertofollow the diasporaofDixieitesto opportunities inArizona,Nevada,orCalifornia.Yetfrom 1929to 1964Orvalwound his life into thefabric ofacommunity that was trying desperately to change, to enter ametamorphosis The livesofOrval andRuth Hafen marked the end oftheDixieausterityperiod,thechangefrom frugality toaconsumer society,the move from isolation and labor-intensive agriculture to recreation and tourism,the amazing change from aSpartan community to one offering comforts that hardly anyone foresaw Orval was not the lone leader,buthewasavisionarymanwho capturedthetransitioninapowerfuljournal.Initspagesonecanfeelthediscouragement oftryingto attract capital and the excitement of anew vision for the county, avision that actuallycameintobeingjustafter Orvaldied,stillinhisprimeatagesixty

The challengesaheadofDixieitesinthe 1930swerehuge.Therewasnot one hard-surfaced road in the county seat of St.George,home to 2,500 people Only afew carscamethroughthetown eachday,andtherewas no railroad The nearby national parks attracted some hardy travelers,but the dirt roadswere almostimpassable.The brief economic upswing caused by WorldWar I soon passed, and the effect of the Great Depression was settlinginuponWashington County,alreadyamongthepoorestsections of thenation

The farmers' cooperative Hafen came to manage lasted only one year andwasunabletopaythesalaryithadplannedfor him Initsstead Hafen and several community leaders organized the Pioneer Protection and Investment Company.They had limited success by attracting a small amount ofcapital,about $5,000,from within theirown ranksand,usingit to import fertilizer to sell to farmers,posting amodest profit This effort underlined the basic difficulty ofnot being able to attract outside capital andthelimitsofagricultureinanaridland.

Then anear-catastrophe occurred In 1933theLDSchurchwithdrewits sponsorship ofDixie College,amove that waspart ofaplan to close the manyLDS academiesinthe IntermountainWest anddefer to state-owned higher education.The whole community knew that Dixie College was centraltothetown'spurpose OrvalHafen becamepresident ofthe chamber of commerce that year, and he and his colleagues scraped together money to send adelegation ofkey people,includingWilliam O.Bentley,

SENATOR ORVAL HAFEN

Joseph S.Snow,David Hirschi, and Dixie College presidentJoseph K. Nicholes tolobby thelegislature That teambrokered aunique agreement makingDixieastateinstitutionthatwouldinitiallyreceiveno appropriation.

Hafen reported:"We [Dixie College] got by on the financial end last year [1933-34] throughthehelpofthechurch andbycombiningthe high school and college under one program, ashad been done previously We hope to do soagainthisyear [1934-35],and are already girding ourselves for another fight inthelegislature,not onlytokeep ourschoolbutfor the whole idea ofjunior colleges,and alsoto seethatwegetan appropriation from the state, as Snow andWeber Junior Colleges have done."6 The college'ssuccessinobtaininga$35,000appropriationin 1935meantthatit wouldsurviveandits200studentscouldcontinuuetheir education.

Once that crisishadpassed,Orval andfiveothercommunity leaders,W O Bentley,MatthewBentley,GlennE Snow,WilfordW McArthur,andB Glen Smith,organized the Dixie EducationAssociation.It was a behindthe-sceneseffort toforestallanysimilarcrisesThegroupslowly accumulated sufficient fundstoprovideayear'sreserve,shoulditbeneeded.Two decades later,that moneywasavailabletopurchase the sitefor anew campus next tothecemeteryontheeasternedgeoftown.

Those searchingfor anew economic basefaced seriouschallenges. One was the continued need for support for Dixie College Another was the needforexpandedwaterdevelopment.Roadsneededtobeimproved,capital attracted,and destination amenities created to interest travelers. Orval wasoften discouraged abouttheprospects.On October 8,1935,he wrote, "Some days things seem sopetty here;Ispend my time and energy with details,with things that somehow don't matter much St George doesn't figure muchintheworld'sprogress.Itisinsignificant,andinsomany ways soisallthatwe do here."Two decadeslaterhe could stillget discouraged: "Thetownseemssosleepy,thereseemtobesofewopportunitiesfor people tomakethemoneytheyneedtokeepupwiththetimesThereisatemptationtofeellikeoneshouldchuckitallandmovetoSaltLakeorsomesection where there are more opportunities... Then I recall thatJuanita Brooks saidoncethatsomeonehadwrittenthatamancouldmakeabetter contributionthroughhisowngrouportownthanhecouldanywhereelse."7

Many of the residents ofDixie did not share his vision.They did not look to outsiders for help and certainly did not see tourism asa viable future Suggestions about building agolfcourse to attractvisitors brought chuckles from those locals who did not expect that tourists would come and knew that no home-towners had the time,money, or inclination for golf.Theyhadlaboredatfarming,ranching,andpeddlingtheirproducts for

6 Ibid., I, 13 From the introduction See also Washington County News, January 10, February 9, 16, 23, March 9, 1933, and Edna J Gregerson, Dixie College (Salt Lake City: Franklin Quest, 1993), 199-207

7 Hafen journal, I, 69, August 8, 1935, and ibid., II, 70, March 17, 1957 See also Bruce Hafen, "Making a Difference," St. George Magazine, January/February 1993, 24 In this article, Orval's son sees him as "plagued throughout his adult life" with these questions

three generations and had become accustomed to the rigors of austerity. Frugalitywasanethicalprinciplewiththem,andtheyintendedto continue withit

John Hafen was Orval Hafen's father, a rather successful Santa Clara farmer/rancher ofSwissdescent;herepresentedthatview.He embodied an established generation offarmers who clung to the old values and prospered Lateinlifehe owned agood-sized cattleherdbutstilllivedasifhe didnot.Orvalreportedinhisjournalthathisfather'sSantaClara neighbors askedhim to convince hisfather to installatelephone sotheywould not haveto sendfor him continually to takecallsattheirhomes."Dad doesn't havearadiooracar Ihadtotrypersuasion onhimseveraltimeslastsummer to buy arefrigerator. He represents the old age,Ithe new,in away. Therearevirtuesinhisattitude,andperhapssomeinmine."8

One taleintheHafen family capturesthatfrugality mode "One Sunday Ruth and I drove over to Santa Clara to visit father. He told us he had bought anewsuitbutinlookinghim overRuth noticedthatthecoat and pantsdidnotmatch.Shecalledittofather's attention andasked'Why isit you have on the coatfrom the new suitbut thepantsfrom another suit?' Dadsaid,'Well,Ijustdidn'twanttocomeoutinthenewsuitallatonce.'"9

Incontrasttothisself-denial oftheirfather'sgeneration,Orvaland others ofhistimewererestiveforanewDixie Even amidthediscouragement of the Great Depression they worked at optimism.The future state senator wrotein 1935:

Dixie seems destined to undergo quite a change. Instead of the isolated little farms and cattle ranches, we may be in the midst of a recreational center, which will entirely change our attitudes, our outlook, our associations, our opportunities. Boulder Dam is finished; the five-day week, and the thirty-hour week are here; we are the gateway to the parks and playgrounds of Utah; in a few years yachts and pleasure boats will be plying the water of Boulder Lake [Lake Mead]; thousands of people go to see the dam every month now; more will continue to come Pine Valley mountain, Zion Park, Bryce, Grand Canyon, and more parks to be created around us, will draw millions of people in the next few years. 10

Though hemissedonapoint ortwo (thethirty-hourweek),Hafen was a pretty good prophet, foreseeing more parks and monuments, pleasure boats,and millions ofvisitors.The next year he noted afew signs of the new ethic:

Five years ago the town was not refrigerator-minded, but it is now Two years ago people seldom thought of installing furnaces when they built, but they do now, to a greater extent One year ago air conditioning was something for other people, in the future Now, the Thompson boys, who have been in the plumbing business, spend a lot of time figuring on air-conditioning problems There will be half a dozen places this year which will be air-conditioned.11

8 Hafen journal, 1,18, December 16, 1934

9 Ibid., II, 154, December 16, 1958.

10 Ibid., I, 25, March 31, 1935

11 Ibid., I, 93, April 7, 1936

SENATOR ORVAL HAFEN

Orval Hafen gradually developed anew vision for Dixie rooted in his knowledgeofhishomelandandhisexperiencebeyondit Hewasconvinced that anew consumer society,ending the austerity ofWashington County, was possible ifDixieites would move beyond subsistence agriculture His vision featured the creation of destination tourism, something more than providinggas,food,andlodgingforthosepassingthrough onHighway91 He foresaw people comingtoSt.Georgefor anextended stay,toplaygolf, tovisitnationalparks,to enjoy recreation facilities yettobebuilt,perhaps to spend the winter or even to retire.Much of that vision waslinked to sunshine.He cametobelievethatsunshinewasasaleableproduct and that peoplecouldbeattractedtoDixietoenjoyitandeventobuilda comfortablelifestylearoundit.

Perhaps suchhopefulness among the new generation wasinfluenced by themercurialriseofLasVegas,soneartheDixie desert.St.Georgewas on the northern edge oftheMohave Desert,snuggled next to the Hurricane Fault and the elegance ofthe Colorado Plateau.LasVegas,once an abandonedMormon outpost,layonehundredmilessouthwestintheflatland of thatdesert,rightintheextremeheat,butitwasthriving.Hafen'sjournal in 1952includedanastutecomment abouttheamazinganomaly:

Las Vegas is growing like a prairie fire. It started doing that 25 years ago when Hoover Dam was being built, and the wise-acres predicted that it was just a temporary boom and would be a ghost town when the dam was built; but it kept right on growing and it looks like there will be no end to it. As it grows, it attracts new industries and grows in political and military importance Senator Pat McCarran exerts his influence to get government-projects: the air force base, the atomic energy testing grounds, even the great expanse of buildings which was known as the basic magnesium plant during the war, and which seemed to be a white elephant, has been touched with some magic wand. People from here and the surrounding towns find much temporary and permanent employment in and near Las Vegas. Many of them are moving there to make their homes; others wonder if it would not be wise to do so Wages are high, there are jobs to be had, there are opportunities for all the myriad types of little businesses there seems to be a need for Las Vegas is one of the most amazing phenomena in the throbbing restless life that is America It is a different world from complacent, sleepy little St George and the Mormon towns of Utah, most of which are starving for industries and payrolls.12

On the onehand Hafen sawDixie as"sleepy,"yet onthe otherhand he wasadreamer:

I can't get away from the feeling that the destiny of Dixie lies in her climate and scenery and that my mission is to help bring this about.13

The old pioneers did their part in establishing a foothold in this forbidding, awesome land That was their mission, and they accomplished it in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles A new day and new problems are now moving on the stage Someone must start out where they left off There is SO MUC H to do to catch up with other sections of the state and with other states.14

12 Ibid., II, 10, September 27, 1952.

13 Ibid., II, 135, August 23,1958.

14 Ibid., II, 156, December 16,1958

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Las Vegas, 1938, in Salt Lake Tribune photo.

These words could well be the motto of the Dixie transition leaders,men like ArthurBruhn,who dreamed ofathrivingDixie College; Truman Bowler and Wayne Wilson, who planned for water projects; and Neal HS Lundberg, a forward-looking civicleader.Most ofthemwere entrepreneurs who determined to use local resources to stimulate the realization of their visions They had few ties to outside funds; big capital investments would have to wait for the 1970-2000 period Then the high-risk projects, based largely on outside money,would get going with such developments asBloomington, Green Valley,the first convention center,major housing projects,shopping malls, andindustrialparks.Those developments characterize St.Georgetoday but werebeyondthecapacityoflocalinvestorsinthe 1940-70 epoch

Hafen wasone ofthehandful tomakeamodeststartWhile maintaining alawpractice,he devotedmuch ofhispersonal effort tobusinessventures, hoping to generate capitalfor hisbigger dreams He established aFord car dealership andservicegarage,which sometimes consumed hiswhole work dayThe dealershipwasataxingundertaking andpressedhim constantly to meet the payroll.He commented, "It is aworry; it ties up considerable capital;itdoesn'tmakemuch money."15

Next he ventured into real estate,developing ahousing subdivision on the southern edge ofthe town atMain Street and 6th South.Thiswashis effort at attracting outsiders,but few potential buyers could make down payments He often had to takeasecond mortgage tomake dealspossible, again tying up his capitalpotential Itwas slow going but the subdivision was eventually completed.Despite this harsh experience,itwaspart of an ambitious dream:

Right now, I am rather deeply involved in a sub-division project which if it goes according to plan, would take ten years to complete, and in the process I might find myself expanding the project to include summer homes in Pine Valley and a winter lodge here. I don't dare to confess to Mo m what wild ideas are going through my mind In fact, I hardly dare face them myself and I hardly dare admit, even to myself, that I have sites picked out in Pine Valley and over near Snow's Canyon for just such ventures.16

15 Ibid., II, 69, March 17, 1957 Examples of the many advertisements for his dealership can be seen in Washington County News, December 17, 1953, and January 21, 1954

16 Hafen journal, II, 81, August 17, 1957.

Tabernacle Street, St. George, c. 1930s.

Neither the Pine Valley nor Snow Canyon efforts were completed in his lifetime, but both have since materialized into major endeavors PineValley has become one of the state's most desirable locations for summer cabins.The Snow Canyon project was Hafen's wildfantasy Inthe 1960she described his dream for the

site:

I have visions of setting up a resort featuring the Arabian Desert Might call it "Arabia Deserta" after the famous travel book Could keep on hand a couple of camels for atmosphere, and could feature the sale of pomegranates, dates, figs and pecans People could be enticed to stay there over night, and go for horseback or camel rides in the canyon This place would be near the road in Snow's Canyon which the Park Commission is now developing and would be a contact with the public. At this place we could tell them more of my mam attraction over in my canyon At that place I think I would feature an Indian atmosphere in honor of the natives, the first settlers found here I could keep a few Buffalo in the canyon Might even feature Buffalo steaks and Buffalo robes along with Navajo blankets and Indian Jewelry I have a site all picked out for the lodge and cabins on a little ridge Am having a trail built up to the saddle at the head of the canyon It would be an ideal place for a ski-lift—no snow, but a wonderful trip to the top of those towering red cliffs. Am investigating the feasability [sic] of a "desert golf course," one without water.17

The fairways would be of sand, and the greens of asphalt or sponge rubber.This entire project in Padre Canyon near Ivins depended upon finding water The area is ascenic desert with all the beauty that Zion NationalParkortheGrandCanyon offers,butamenitiesforvisitors would require water, which seemed almost impossible to get Hafen, rational, conservativemanthathewas,tookagamble.Explaininghisdecisiontouse waterdousers,he explained:

The best underground water engineers in Salt Lake told me I was wasting my money Art Bruhn, an amateur geologist, admitted it was possible to get water there if we struck the fissures where it might be percolating, but it remained for the local water witches ("dousers," Mrs. Mannering says) to locate the spot. I don't know how to explain how they can do it, and I don't say they never err I do say I have some water I can get it in the cabin, go ahead with a swimming pool, and then the other steps will fall in line as I can make finances available.18

ThePadreCanyondevelopmentactuallycametofruition,butnotbyhis

17 Ibid., Ill, 24, April 14,1961

IS Ibid Ill, 122, September 28, 1963

WILL BROOKS COLLECTION USHS

effort. He got the water there (though he did not build the swimming pool),proving theplan'sviability,but he was diverted topolitical projects. Then when he returned to it,itwas too late;he had aheart attack while digging atrench at the project and died prematurely Three decades later, developers utilized the land and water he once owned to create the Tuacahn Performing Arts Center, where thousands come to the same canyontoattendoutdoormusicalproductions eachsummer.Appropriately, theindoortheaterthereisnamedafter OrvalandRuth Hafen

These severalpersonal ventures did not occupy allhis time.He joined with others in attempts to promote the desert paradise idea. Golf was centraltotheirplan,andtheywere convinced thatthelittlewhiteballwas to be akeyfactor in Dixie's future In 1965,one year after Orval Hafens death, a group including Neal Lundberg, SidAtkin, Bruce Stucki, and others negotiated the creation of Red Hills Golf Course, the city's first. Thiswastheculmination ofacampaignforSt Georgegolfthathad begun in the 1930s Infact,during avisitin 1931,LDSpresident HeberJ Grant urgedcommunityleaderstobuildagolfcourse.19

Nearly adecadebefore theirsuccess,Hafen wastalkingthesameway:"I want to do something about getting a golf course established so that we canbegin to attractpeoplein thewintertime."20 Such acoursewould bea nice fit for his dude ranch. He knew there were obstacles,even beyond capital:

Ou r reasons for building a golf course are mostly to attract people from outside to come here and spend their money. We readily admit that local people would not patronize the course enough to justify building it In that regard, it is interesting to observe that local people do not know how to play Ever since this country was settled, people have been occupied almost exclusively with wresting a living from the soil and getting a toehold economically We have been raised on the philosophy of being frugal, of not wasting anything, of making our time count, of the necessity of work, work, and that it was more or less of a sin to loaf or to spend for things we didn't need That was my father's philosophy as it was that of his associates I find it in myself, sometimes in strange ways. 21

Efforts like the Ivins ranch, proposed golf courses, and new housing developments depended upon finding morewatersourcesThe city's modest growth until then had been supplied by the nearby springs along the Red Hillsandbywater from Cottonwood Spring The latterwas brought to St.George from alargespring on PineValleyMountain's southern face via an eighteen-mile canal AnthonyW Ivins,the mayor ofSt George in the early 1890s,had promoted an ambitious plan to dig acanal that distance; earlier, BrighamJarvis had advocated the route that was finally

19

20 Hafen journal, II, 102, "New Year's Day," 1958

21 Ibid., II, 117, July 4,1958

Douglas D Alder and Karl Brooks, A History of Washington County: From Isolation to Destination (Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society, 1996), 303 The efforts of Sid Atkin and Neal Lundberg are featured in Washington County News, July 30, 1964 Heber J Grant was an avid golfer

SENATOR ORVAL HAFEN

adopted The canalwascompleted in 1897 Thiswatersufficed for the city ofSt.George untilthe 1930s,when federal funds became availableto pipe the water the whole distance,thus doubling the amount delivered to the town.22 OrvalHafen capturedthecommunity'shopeastheeffort began:

The drouth this past year has been so severe that our people are anxious to develop any projects which will make more water available. Even now, we all feel that the great handicap to the more rapid growth of the town is the limited water supply for the St. George Valley The present project, if consummated, as it apparently will be, will mark a new day for St George In addition to piping the water all the way from Pine Valley mountain, and practically doubling the amount that now reaches us with the pipe line extending only part way, there is a possibility that a stream will be brought from Washington, and piped over here.23

Within twodecades,communityleaderscouldseethenecessityofseekingfurther sources ofwater.They began an ambitious plan to construct a major reservoir ontheVirginRiverbelow thetown ofVirgin and another onenearGunlock ontheSantaClaraRiver.Theseprojectswereonascale manytimesthesizeoftheCottonwood effort anddependedonthe device that enabled reclamation projects throughout America's West—federal funding. Congress had paid for Boulder Dam, and the transformation it brought toLasVegaswasnotunnoticed in adjacentWashington County.A broad coalition of community leaders from Hurricane as well as St George, including Hafen, worked with Senator Frank E. Moss and Congressman LaurenceJ Burton to get a$42 million appropriation from the U. S.Congress. Its passage in 1964 prompted an ebullient entry in Hafensjournal:

Have received word that Congress has authorized the Dixie Project.This is a red-letter day for us, perhaps as significant a day as any we have had in the last hundred years It marks the beginning of a new and wonderful era for Utah's Dixie. The additional thousands of acres that will be brought under cultivation, the power that will be available, the recreational possibilities with the reservoir, the activity that will be generated during and after construction—all these things will make this one of the bright spots in the west, which is one of the bright spots in the nation St. George will grow as the center of the area More people will come here to live; the school will grow; the temple will become more important; golf courses and other recreational attractions will blossom People will take another look at our area because of its winter sunshine Truly, a bit of history for Utah's Dixie was made today.24

Thejoy was soon eclipsed as the combined projects were abandoned. TheVirgin sitepresented geologicalproblems;afatalfault lineand porous soil near the dam site would have prevented the lake from keeping the waterstoredAsecondsiteclosertoHurricaneprovedtobetoo expensive The GunlockReservoir ontheSantaClaraRiverwaseventually completed,butnotwithfederalfunds.Itwouldtaketwentymoreyearstobuild the Quail Creek Reservoir,an alternative to the Dixie Project that was based

22 Lyman Hafen, Making the Desert Bloom (St George: Publishers Place, 1991), 11—14

23 Hafen journal, 1,19, December 16, 1934.

24 Ibid., Ill, 165, August 19, 1964 See also Washington County News, August 20, 1964

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

onadifferent strategy.InsteadofdammingtheVirgin,QuailCreek diverted Virginwatersintoanearbystorage reservoir.25

Another domain ofinterest for the Hafens was culture.This was one reason for their continuing support ofDixie College;part ofthat support included Ruth's teaching the French language on the campus.Orval and Ruth wanted their three surviving children, Bruce, Ruth Ann, and Margaret,to participate in music,theater,and art.All three did, gratifying their parents and setting atone for their lives The Hafens also promoted quality reading.Ruth founded St.George'sAliceLouiseReynolds Club,a women's book club that encouraged reading of quality literature Named for an esteemed BrighamYoung University professor, it was part of a network ofsimilarwomen's groups in Utah Ruth nurtured the effort for years and found great delight in the group and the reading.For his part, Orval built and read apersonal collection ofbooks.Excerpts from them often appearedinhismanyspeechesatchurchandcommunitymeetingsas wellasinhisjournal.

In 1952 Orval Hafen was elected to the Utah State Senate.After three decades of efforts tojumpstart Dixie's economy, he became the official spokesman for the region,including Iron County,in the state capitol.The remainderofhislifewasdevotedtothisarena Hislegalandbusinesstalents moved himintoprominence quickly.Atthe end ofhisfirstsession (1953), he was selected asthe outstanding senator by the representatives of the press.Inhissecondsession (1955) hebecame partywhip,then in 1957 he waselectedsenatepresident In 1959hewasmajority leaderand thereafter chair of key committees.This close tie with the legislative leadership allowed him to be very productive During those twelveyearshe became the point man on several issues:junior colleges,state parks, reapportionment,savingsandloaninstitutions,andhigher education

GovernorJ Bracken Lee was the focal figure in Utah's politics in the 1950s.He cut aconservative swath acrossUtah and the Republican party, andhismaingoalsweretocuttaxesandreducethesizeofgovernment To that end,he calledaspecialsessionofthelegislatureinDecember 1953 to deal with education There, he submitted requests to close the junior collegesandvocationalschoolsinUtah,arguingthatthestatedidnot need themandcouldnotafford them.

Naturally,thisput SenatorHafen in atightsqueeze.Asan up-and-coming Republican,itwas difficult for him to oppose the leader ofhis party,

25 The development of water in Utah's Dixie required several major reclamation projects Many started in the 1890-1910 period—the Cottonwood Canal (1890-91), the Enterprise Reservoir (1890-1911), the LaVerkin Canal (1885-90), the Hurricane Canal (1893-1905), and the Washington Fields Dam (1891-93) By mid-century the next generation of projects began—the Baker Dam (1954), the Kolob Reservoir (1950s), the failed Dixie Project of the 1960s, Gunlock Reservoir (1970), the Quail Creek Dam (1982-87), and an expansion of Quail Creek at Sand Hollow in 2001 (The Quail Creek project diverted water from the Virgin River to a suitable storage spot; Sand Hollow, located south of Quail Creek, will store excess runoff of the same Virgin water brought through the same canal.) The possibility of a pipeline from Lake Powell, to empty into Sand Hollow, is currently under discussion

SENATOR ORVAL HAFEN

yet his number one priority was to protect Dixie College He was not aloneinthispredicament Weber,Snow,and Carbon collegesaswellasthe two vocational schools,SaltLake and Central Utah,alsohad advocates in the legislature. It could have been ahuge battle,but behind-the-scenes negotiationssoftened thepotential conflict

Legislative leaders,including Senator Hafen, met with the LDS First Presidency andErnestWilkinson,BYU'spresident.Thelatterwas advocatingthe creation ofanetwork ofjunior collegestobe"feeder"schools for BYU.An agreement wasreached that the church would takeback Snow, Dixie,andWeber colleges,which had been church academies previously, and continue their operation Senator Hafen agreed to carry that bill on the understanding that Carbon and the two vocational schoolswould not beincludedbecausetheyhadnotbeenLDSacademiesandthechurch did not intend to take them on.They would be handled in separate bills that wouldclosethem

There wassome grumbling aboutWeber College because many people inWeber County didnotwantthechurch to owntheircollege However, facedwith thepossibilityofnofuture forthecollegeatall,theirlegislators reluctantlywentalongwithSenatorHafen'sbill.Forhispart,Governor Lee realized that aproposal to end state ownership ofthe collegeswould not passunlessthesurvivalofthesethree collegeswasguaranteed.Sothat was the compromise:transfer Dixie,Snow,andWeber to the LDS church and closeCarbonandthetwovocationalschools.

Senator Hafen's corresponding bill,SB39,put him in atough spot,but he reasoned that thebillwould ensure continuation ofthe college,which would otherwise die.He had no guarantee that the church would never close the college;it had already done that once before in 1933,but the immediate onslaughtneeded tobecontained,soheledoutinthe negotiationsandsponsoredthebillinthesenate.ThebillpassedonDecember18.

26

The ending to allthese tactics was surprising A citizens'movement in Ogden, Ephraim, and Price raised aprotest against the legislation, and citizenssponsoredaninitiativetokeepallsixschoolsopenandunder state ownership To the amazement of many, the initiative passed statewide Governor Lee's attempt had been rejected Those six institutions are still part of Utah's higher education system.Today they enroll some 72,000 studentsandareconsideredakeyfactorintrainingamarketable workforce, which in turn attracts industries to the state and stimulates the thriving economy

ThiscontestwasonefactorpromptingSenatorHafen tointroducelegislationcreatingaUtah HigherEducation Coordinating Council.He hoped thenon-partisan agencywouldprotecthighereducationfrom unproductive and unregulated competition among individual institutions.He presented

appropriate senatebillsin 1957and 1959.27 The resultingcouncilservedas aforerunner for the Utah StateBoard ofRegents,which wasinstituted a decade later. He also furthered Dixie College by promoting bills to construct buildings on the new campus.Taken together,the new campus, the new buildings there,the continued existence,andthe new governance systembecamebasicelements ofDixie College.SenatorHafen was central inallofthesedevelopmentsthatplayedamajorpartinthenewDixie

Another matter that influenced rural southern Utah was the issue of legislativeapportionment.SenatorHafen quicklybecame theleaderin this matter, which was under scrutiny because of U S Supreme Court rulingsabout equalrepresentation.He authored twobills,onein 1961 and anotherin 1963,thatattempted tobalancetheurban centersandthe rural partsofthestate.28 Thebillspassed.Inhisjournalhesummarizedtheissue:

The 25 rural counties now have a majority of 14 to 11 in the Senate. The four populous counties have a majority in the House These urban counties, which represent about 75% of the states population, want a majority in both houses, and we don't want them to have it My argument is that our government is not built on the theory that we must always recognize the majority, that in the federal government and in the states, safeguards have been written in to protect us from the tyranny of the majority, and that it is not in the best interests of the state for a small geographical area to be in a position to legislate for its own benefit and to control all the legislation... I have therefore prepared a bill increasing the Senate to 27, making it 14 for the 25 rural counties and 13 for the 4 urban counties, and increasing the House, giving the 4 urban counties more of a majority than we now have I explained the problem and the bill to a Republican caucus yesterday, and got very good support from the members of both houses, and was backed up by the governor. 29

The 1962U.S Supreme Court decisioninBakerv Carrhadundone many states'efforts tomodify thestrictrepresentationbypopulation.InUtah,this required that counties sometimes have split representation in order to createequallegislativedistricts,anoutcome thatHafen unsuccessfully tried toprevent.

There were other matters bearing onWashington County that Senator Hafen undertook in the legislature. One of the far-reaching matters was the creation ofastatepark system,ofwhich heisconsidered the founder. He could seethat stateparks needed support,sohe introduced legislation tocreatetheStateParksCommission tobethatadvocate.Obviously, Hafen was anxious to have state sponsorship for Snow Canyon State Park near IvinsinWashington County,buthehadinterestswellbeyondthat.In 1963 he introduced legislation to createWasatch State Park near Heber City

27 Utah State Senate, 1957, Senate Bill 54, p 69; Utah State Senate, 1959, Senate Bill 54, p 65

28 Utah State Senate, 1961, Senate Bill 1, p 52; Utah State Senate, 1963, Senate Bill 63, p 96

29 Hafen journal, III, 104, July 18, 1963 See also Baker v Carr, Supreme Court of the United States, 309 US, April 19-20 , 1961, March 26, 1962, LexisNexis Academic Universe documen t (www.lexisnexis.com) To meet requirements of the Supreme Court decision in Baker v Carr, the legislature had to let the urban counties have a majority in the house However, Hafen made sure the rural counties maintained a majority in the senate so the rural caucus could stop legislation if it had to

SENATOR ORVAL HAFEN

Both of these parks are state treasures—though the system today still has fewlegislativeadvocates.30

Hafen's role in the senate included more thanjust Washington/Iron County promotion He carriedtwentytothirtybillspersession,becoming an expert on such topics assavingsandloan associations,marriage regulations,courts,school finance, and state government offices He was a very busyman.

One ofthe waysto gain aperspective on Senator Hafen isto compare him with his contemporary,William (Bill) Barlocker.From 1958 to 1966 BillBarlocker was the mayor ofSt.George.A Democrat, he and Senator Hafenwerecontrasts.HafenwasaRepublican,closelyalliedwith governors Lee and Clyde aswell as state Republican chairVernon Romney and future U.S congressman Sherman Lloyd On the opposite side, Bill Barlocker became the Democratic party's standard-bearer as gubernatorial candidatein 1960,buthelosttoGeorgeDeweyClyde,the incumbent

The tactics of the two Dixieites differed fundamentally, and personally their styles were at least asfar apart Hafen admitted that the mayor was muchmoreadeptatseekingvotesand"backslapping."Barlockerwas affable andgiftedinwinningfriends,whereasHafenwasperceivedasrather formal A conservative and alawyer,he was widely read,ofhigh culture,and an active Latter-day Saint but was not an easy socializer.31 Barlocker was an enterprising turkey farmer of considerable means,at least for awhile. He used his fortune to take over the Bank of St George and become its president.Thetwomencouldhardlyhavebeenmore different.

Senator Hafen was very uncomfortable with the possibility of Bill Barlocker becoming governor.That fact emphasized their political difference.The irony was that both men were trying to do the same thing— develop the economic base ofDixie through government and their own investments.32 Both adopted the American ideology of progress and of development Both became moderately well-to-do, something rare in Dixie.Andbothwouldlikelybestunnedtohearcriticstodaywonderifthe sought-after developmentwasreallydesirable,ifgrowth didnothave some seriousdownsides.Theysawtheirintent to develop employment opportunities and to attract visitors and new residents assuitable solutions to the economic doldrumsthatseemed topersistinUtah'sDixie.Philosophically, Hafen and Barlocker were similar (pro-development), but their personal differences were so strong that their commonalities did not bring them together Theyjustdidnotdothings together

Four decades later,after the Hafen-Barlocker era,the population has

30 Utah State Senate, 1957, Senate Bill 62, p 74; ibid., 1963, Senate Bill 62, p 218

31 An admiring neighbor child thought otherwise, later remembering Orval Hafen as a people person, especially one who enjoyed children See Rula Jean Snow Williams, "My Memories of Orval Hafen," November 18, 2000, essay in possession of author

32 Hafen, II, 97, November 5, 1957; ibid., 122-23, July 14,1958

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

increased sevenfold and the area is regularly cited as one of the nation's premier retirement communities. Environmental advocates are raising questionsabouttheconceptofdevelopment andgrowth;theycite resource depletion,habitatinfringement, airpollution,andtraffic congestion—issues Hafen and Barlocker could hardly haveimagined But in 1960 Hafen and Barlocker were still struggling to jumpstart the region; they did not apologize for doing so By 1970,after Hafen's death,Dixie was on a new trajectory leading to dynamism.Why did it work?Why in Dixie? Even though entrepreneurial efforts oflocalDixie citizenswereessentialtogeta golfcourse and an airport and to build motels and restaurants,there were external factors that had even more impact.Air conditioning became a national norm, making Dixie adaptable to tourists The building of the national interstate highway system transformed much ofAmerica, particularly St George, where the railroad had never come, and it brought commercetothefront doorofSt.Georgebusinesses.

Perhaps the biggest factor was the growth of national wealth, which allowed many people to travel to see the grandeur of the national parks Another wasthe emergence ofretirement asanational norm. Retirement income allowedmanypeopletorelocatetosunshinestates.33 Suchplacesas Palm Springs, Phoenix/Sun City, and all of southern California were attractive to senior citizens Utah's Dixie wasjust abit north ofthese,and some people seeking sunshine were drawn to St. George because it was smallerthanPhoenixorLosAngelesandhadlessglitterthanLasVegas The Mormon temple was inviting to aparticular niche of the retirement cohort Soon Dixie became the site ofBloomington, then GreenValley, CrystalSprings,Entrada,Kayenta,SunRiver,Coral Canyon,and other real estatedevelopments,allenabledbyoutside financing.

Severallocalfactors supplemented thenationalforces The availability of sufficient water wasessential,and the city'swater development wasable to stayjustaheadofeachproject The airportwasexpandedseveraltimes,first bythechamber ofcommerce andlaterbythecity,with thehelp of federal funding The citygovernment became anavidsupporter ofgolf,owning at this writing four municipal courses,while seven others in the area were privately developed.

Did Orval Hafen cause these things to happen? Hardly His legacy did include the new Dixie College campus and many other things,but it was hisattitude ofbuildinganewDixiethatwasmost significant Many others came to share it.They were the ones who actually built the golf courses,

33 Farley Reynolds, The New American Reality: Who We Are, How We Got Here, Where We Are Going (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1996), 287-88 Reynolds writes, "The South and the West generally benefit because they attract a rather prosperous older population whose income is unlikely to go down very much during a recession...." See also Population Profile of the United States, 1984-85, Special Studies, Series P23 #150 (Washington, DC : Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census), 7: "The South and West Regions continue to dominate the nation's growth, capturing 91.4 percent of the country's 1980-85 population increase."

SENATOR ORVAL HAFEN

the retirement complexes, and the recreation facilities after the senator's passing.Hafen, on the other hand,wasthehighly respected advocate who outlined the idea ofdestination tourism and retirement He opened many doors.

All this growth has been exciting to many but alarming to others.To lookatitfrom theperspective ofthedecadesbetween 1930and 1960puts itintoacontext.Thosewho arejustifiably alarmedtodayaboutthe growth anditsfuture cangainperspectivebylooking atatime when scarcitywas the norm and a generation came on the scene to ameliorate it.Like so many in small towns,this generation set out to promote change.Their efforts were somewhat like trying to move amountain,yet eventually the consumer society and the comfortable community that they envisioned actuallycameabout OrvalHafen wasjust one ofascorewho ledout,but hispencapturedtheirfrustrations andtheirdreams.Werehealivetoday,his journal would likely talk of amazement—and perhaps of concern that DixienotmirrorLasVegas.

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A Trial Furnace: Southern Utah's Iron Mission

By Morris A. Shirts and Kathryn H. Shirts (Provo:

BrighamYoung University Press, 2001 xx + 523 pp $29.95.)

DURIN G TH E INITIAL DECADE of Mormo

n settlement in Utah, the new residents attempted to create an independent economic society. Their distance from eastern suppliers and the anticipation of continuing immigration pressed leaders to establish a system of domestic production. They dreamt of being able not only to raise ample food but also to manufacture such things as paper, cotton, sugar, and iron. They hoped to meet the needs of the many settlements being established within the Great Basin By so doing, they could reduce dependence on distant suppliers and address the serious shortage of currency needed to buy products abroad

From this need was born the mission system. BrighamYoung and his colleagues "called" specific groups to go to locations where these specialized products could be generated. On e such effort was launche d wit h high expectations—th e Iron Mission near Parowan/Cedar City in southern Utah.

Morris Shirts spend a good portion of his life researching the story of the Southern Utah Iron Mission—the period from 1851 to 1870. He died with the manuscript only partially completed, but his daughter-in-law utilized his research notes and brought the book to fulfillment in time for the 150th anniversary of the colony's founding Brigham Young University Press recently released the book, which will be of interest to many, especially the residents of Utah's Iron County and the descendants of the Iron Mission pioneers

Appropriately, the account begins with the story of the Parley P Pratt expedition that explored the main southern Utah routes in 1849, designating sites for further settlements Even though they nearly perished, the fifty men made it over the mountains and into what became Parowan Then, after they examined the nearby iron ore that Jefferson Hunt had discovered earlier, they sent messages back to the general conference confirming the existence of that resource Brigham Young responded quickly by sending George A Smith and fifty men (some with families) to settle the valley of the Little Salt Lake and begin the production of iron

The authors describe the trek of the "called" missionaries as they retraced the Pratt pathway (later the Interstate 15 corridor) each of twenty-six days. They then turn to a detailed account of village building and the missionaries' choosing between Center Creek and Muddy Creek, selecting local officers, exploring the surrounding area, building a fort and homes, creating farms, digging ditches,

plowing fields, and erecting fences.

The account details the founding of Cedar City, its later move to the present location, and the discovery of nearby coal veins. It then turns to the main theme—the attempt to produce iron This was a high priority for the missionaries because all Mormon towns needed nails, axes, horseshoes, wire, shovels, blades, hammers, and other items they could make from iron. They knew the whole "kingdom" awaited their success, but there were many obstacles The Iron Mission colony needed to eat, and much of their effort was diverted into farming Most of all, furnaces had to be built, coal and iron ore mined, and roads constructed. Finally, in September 1852, they produced the first bar of iron, but it was of disappointing quality, hinting at what the future had in store for them

A score of difficulties followed—cold weather, lack of adequate charcoal, Indian dangers, floods, internal squabbles, drought, and lack of adequate equipment Both the central and the local leaders determined to overcome each difficulty. They transformed the mission into a commercial venture with capital from European members They scoured America and Europe for possible workers and they force-fed the operation, building several different ovens and trying several formulas. The result was that by April 1854 they did in fact produce iron, but its quality never reached expectations and the cost to produce it outweighed the profits.

Interruptions caused by the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the Utah War slowed the iron project. Then, after one last try, the effort was officially ended Like some other missions attempting to create an economic independence, the Iron Mission had to shift its emphasis Many people left, but the agricultural dimensions continued on. The long-range result was the byproduct—getting towns established and bringing people to set up Mormon communities and farm the land. It would have been helpful if the authors had shown a comparison with the Cotton Mission, which began next door, and other efforts at economic independence, most of which were gradually abandoned in favor of simply creating agricultural settlements

The strength of the book is the rich documentary base that the authors consulted, diaries of men such as John D Lee, George A Smith, Joseph Fish, Henry Lunt, Isaac C Haight, and William Dame and institutional records such as the ledgers of the Deseret Iron Company It is a well-researched and significant book

DOUGLAS D. ALDER Dixie College

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Writings of John D. Lee Edited by Samuel Nyal Henrie (Tucson: Hats Off Books, 2001 viii + 427 pp Paper, $22.95.)

SAMUEL NYAL HENRI E HAS MADE an important contribution to Utah history by publishing the Writings ofJohn D. Lee, even though it strikes at the very heart of the controversial Mountain Meadows Massacre. This volume includes eight parts. In part one, Henrie sets forth his goal of presenting Lee's worldview and view of his role in the massacre at Mountain Meadows through Lee's personal writings Part two contains the autobiography that Lee wrote while he was in prison. Part three includes the confession that Lee dictated to stenographers while awaiting his execution Part four reproduces the official report of Lee's arrest by United States marshal William Stokes Part five is comprised of a portion of the testimony of Phillip Klingonsmith during the first trial, a brief description of Lee's experience in the territorial prison, and the testimony of several witnesses from the second trial. Part six includes letters Lee wrote while in prison to family members, two poems, a list of his wives and children, and his farewell to his family. Part seven describes the execution of John D Lee In the epilogue, Henrie gives his interpretation of the value and meaning of the documents. He then describes the recent efforts to bring reconciliation between the Mormons and the descendants of those who died in 1857. In this regard, he inserts the talk that Shirley Pyron gave and the poem Stewart Udall recited at the dedication service of the new monument at one gravesite in 1999.

By arranging these documents in this sequence and by providing an introduction to each document, Henrie seeks to strip away the prejudice against Mormons that previous editors had inserted in The Life and Confession of John D. Lee and Mormonism Unveiled. Many readers will find The Writings ofJohn D. Lee a more believable account than these earlier publications because Henrie has placed these writings within the positive context of the recent efforts at reconciliation between the people of Utah and Arkansas As a result, this book may reach Henrie's expectation of filling a vacuum between the intense anti-Mormon literature on the one hand and the scholarship of authors such as Juanita Brooks on the other hand by having John D Lee speak for himself through his own words.

Nevertheless, there are a number of distracting errors in this book First, several mistakes appear in the transcriptions of the original documents. For example, on page 31 the text reads "nest"

spring instead of "next" spring The text on page 99 says 'The " instead of "he." Again, Henrie transcribed "and" as "anal" on page 193

Second, Henrie's editorial comments contain several factual mistakes O n page three, he identifies Joseph Smith with the "Great Awakening," but Smith lived during the "Second Great Awakening." Page five places handcarts in the 1846 exodus, but handcarts were not used for another ten years. Henrie incorrectly dates Juanita Brooks's study of the massacre as written in 1930 His epilogue assigns 1856 as the date for the massacre.

Third, he uses several questionable interpretations. O n page 273, he treats the "Mormon War" as "a political trick to get a Federal Army out of the East." O n the same page, he incorrectly discusses the anti-polygamy legislation Under the Morrell AntiBigamy Law of 1862, he claims "the penalties...went so far as to arrest the Mormo n General Authorities and even the possible dissolution of the L.D.S. Church organization." Actually, the Mormon-controlled probate courts rendered this law ineffective

Fourth, some editorial comments are so brief that they fail to clearly treat the topic O n page 324 Henrie simply says, "Dr Forney was sent from the east to retrieve the children and return them to their surviving relatives." In 1850 Brigham Young became the ex-officio superintendent of Indian affairs and governor of the territory When President James Buchanan replaced Young, he divided these two appointments, and Jacob Forney became superintendent of Indian affairs. When government officials developed their plan to recover the children, they turned to Forney for his help.

Finally, the value of this book would be significantly increased if a good map of the region, biographical notes about the people mentioned in the text, and a complete index were included Nevertheless, people intrigued by the Mountai n Meadows Massacre, Mormon culture, and Utah and the American West will discover this book valuable to read and add to their library.

LAWRENCE G COATES

Brigham Young University, Idaho

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Ute Indian Arts and Culture: From Prehistory to the New Millennium

Edited by William Wroth (Colorado Springs: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 2000

xiii + 248 pp Cloth, $85.00; paper, $45.00.)

WILLIAM WROT H HAS CREATED a masterpiece This colorful and well-illustrated work grabs your attention immediately, and it does not let you go until you have gleaned over it several times. I have witnessed my son pick up the book and review it again and again If it is Wroth s intent to call attention to the beauty of the Ute Indian culture and generate respect for the Ute people (within as well as outside the tribe), then he has succeeded

Most, but not all, of the items featured in this volume are from the Southern Ute of Colorado, those who traditionally occupied parts of the south-central portion of Colorado and northern New Mexico and who now reside on the Southern Ute Reservation or the Ut e Mountai n Ut e Reservation, bot h in southwestern Colorado Other items featured came from the Northern Ute, who now reside on the Uintah and Ouray Ute Reservation (with headquarters in Fort Duchesne, Utah). Of the original eleven bands of Ute who occupied Utah, southern Wyoming, Colorado, and southern New Mexico, only three of the bands (Muache, Capote, and Weeminuche) remain in Colorado, while another three bands (Uintah, White River, and Uncompahgre) now reside in Utah.

My best compliment to Wroth is that his work has brought the public into the present-day homes of Ute people in Utah and Colorado; the book provides a glimpse of the attributes of Ute culture and an idea of what life was like during the latter part of the nineteenth century It also gives a taste of what I witnessed and experience d growin g up on th e Uinta h and Oura y Ut e Reservation in Utah. As a child, I enjoyed moments when my mother and father would open our cedar chest and display many family heirlooms I remember one time it was a silver bridle, another time it was a beautiful beaded parade horse blanket. Sometimes it would be something new that I had not experienced before. Sometimes the importance of the item, its history, and who made it would be shared I recall the time I was told about a fully beaded vest that was a gift from an elderly family friend, Edgar Greenstick, who lived northeast of Duchesne near Yellowstone, sometimes referred to as the Lake Fork area of the reservation. The vest had teepee designs, a design that was borrowed by the White River Band of Utes from the Lakota nations to the north

Sometimes these items of regalia were brought out as our fami-

ly prepared to perform for a group at a tribal or public function. When I was young child in the 1960s, the powwow culture was on the wane The largest major powwow event in the West was the Gallup Ceremonials held in the spring in Gallup, Ne w Mexico. In fact, at one point, there were fewer than ten children and young adults who still performed Plains-style dances, the "war dance" or "turkey dance" (as we referred to them), on our reservation Few dancers retained the full dance regalia We had one singer, Harvey Hatchees, a highly celebrated World War II veteran who became a trusted and respected elder, who was always there to sing several songs for us Thanks to people like him and other dedicated singers and dancers, I am proud to say that the powwow culture has been revived and is growing stronger.

Another major feature of this work is that through Wroth s presentations, it is easy to see how the Utes were influenced by the other Plains Indian nations such as the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho to the north and the Kiowa and Comanche to the south In designs on moccasins, vests, and gloves, the geometric, linear influence of the Plains is witnessed. Also notable is the presence of the "rose design" that sometimes resembles northeastern woodlands designs but that signifies the Ute and other Shoshone nations.

It must have been a grueling task to locate, select, design, and in some cases collect some of the items displayed in this colorful work The black and white photos have depth and possess the right lighting. I commend the author for his tireless search for all the items and his talent for display and design; the quality of his research and the accuracy of the information and descriptions of the items are commendable I urge others to take a lesson from him in how to present the cultural designs and artifacts of our nation's first Americans.

FORREST S CUCH (NORTHERN UTE) Utah Division of Indian Affairs

Mormon History By Ronald W Walker, David J Whittaker, and James B Allen

(Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2001 xi + 279 pp

$32.50.)

MORMON HISTORY FOLLOWS A YEAR after the publication in 2000 of its monumental 1,152-page companion volume, Studies in Mormon History, 1830-1997. The latter volume is a reference work that includes an alphabetical listing by author of more than 16,000 books, articles, theses, dissertations, typescripts, and task papers on

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Mormon history. There is also an index to historical writings and a topical guide to published social literature on the Mormons.

Mormon History allows the compilers of Studies in Mormon History to describe and interpret their work in order to "provide a handbook for those starting a study of Mormon history" and offer "a synthesis of modern scholarship dealing with the writing of Mormon history" (ix).The book has five interpretive chapters— "Beginnings : Nineteenth-Centur y Historica l Writing" ; "Traditionalism Meets Modernism, 1900-1950"; "Th e Ne w Mormon History: Historical Writing since 1950"; "The Challenge of Mormon Biography"; and "Flowers, Weeds, and Thistles: The State of Social Science Literature on the Mormons." The two appendices—"Mormo n Imprints as Sources for Research: A History and Evaluation" and "Mormon Americana: A Guide to Reference Works and Bibliographies"—are more descriptive than interpretive in nature, but they include useful notes and subheadings by topic and genre

As a companion volume to Studies in Mormon History, Mormon History is a landmark of scholarship in its own right Walker, Whittaker, and Allen have provided an indispensable and concise resource that deals with all aspects of writing and publishing Mormo n history Examining the various genres and schools of writing and publishing in this field, the authors review literary analysis of LDS church history from the earliest days of the church to current trends by LDS and non-LDS authors alike

The chapter on Mormon biography distinguishes itself with its comparisons of the works and methods of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and its modern-day examples ranging from the former presidents of the LDS church to minor figures in Mormon history The chapter on social sciences and Mormo n literature (contributed by Armand Mauss) provides an excellent interdisciplinary view of literature, bridging the literature of various humanistic and social sciences fields. Lastly, the appendices on Mormo n imprints and Mormon Americana will be invaluable to scholars pursuing any of the numerous avenues of Mormon history.

Although the conclusions of Walker, Whittaker, and Allen and Mauss differ on the future of publishing in the areas of history, biography, and the social sciences, their work is fresh, insightful, and learned and will no doubt influence a new generation of writers in this field into the twenty-first century This text not only examines works of the various past and present schools of Mormo n history but will also give those new to the field an appreciation for works that have been accomplished; more impor-

tant, it will provide a foundation for new methods and new schools of thought in this area.

PETER L KRAUS University of Utah

Edited by Arnold K Garr, Donald Q Cannon, and Richard O Cowan (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000 vii + 1,454 pp $49.95.)

Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History

THIS SINGLE-VOLUME ENCYCLOPEDIA, containing more than 1,400 entries, provides an interesting history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Compiled by teachers and scholars of LDS church history, the book seeks to "present accurate, concise and readable articles on a wide variety of Church history topics." This volume should appeal to an immens e audience, from the international filmmaker to the religious scholar. It serves as a simple, quick reference source where one can access important information about events and people It is also enjoyable to read The serious student or the casual reader can get "hooked" and read longer than anticipated The articles are brief enough that one can peruse several topics in a short amount of time.

Approximately 350 church history scholars have contributed to this historical record Many familiar names are among the writers —Thoma s Alexander, Davis Bitton , Claudia and Richar d Bushman, Susan Easton Black, Jan Shipps, and many others. An alphabetical list of writers is included in the back of the book

While the articles vary in length, the format is consistent. The first sentence explains the importance of the topic, and the rest of the narrative provides succinct information Additional sources on the topic are listed at the end of each article The number of sources varies from one to twelve, depending on the subject. Obviously, the nature of the book limits the number of sources that can be included Unfortunately, important recent sources are missing for some of the entries For example, the reference to Alaska does not include Faith in the Far North: A History of the Fairbanks, Alaska, Stake (Fairbanks: Fairbanks Alaska Stake, 1998); although fairly short, this work covers the history of the church in northern Alaska from 1928 to 1998 The article on David Hyrum Smith does not include the 1998 biography by Valeen Tippetts Avery, From Mission to Madness: Last Son of the Mormon Prophet. There are twenty-six interesting black-and-white photographs

on a variety of subjects such as the rules of the United Order, the document announcing that all worthy males could hold the priesthood, and President Ronald Reagan and Elder Gordon B. Hinckley at a church cannery

The book contains a detailed church history chronology, starting with the birth of Brigham Young in 1801 and ending with the dedication of the Boston Temple on October 1, 2000. An excellent index is also included Bold-faced words in the articles indicate a cross-reference to another article.

With all the emphasis recently placed on using the full name when referencing the church, it is surprising that Deseret Book and church scholars would not include the complete name in the title

All in all, this is an excellent source, well worth the $49.95, but a less expensive paperback edition would make it more affordable. Perhaps the encyclopedia could be made available electronically A Spanish edition also might be very helpful.

DAVID A HALES Westminster College

Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years among the Mormons By Jan Shipps (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2000 xiii + 400 pp $34.95.)

ALTHOUG H JAN SHIPPS, a nationally recognized scholar of Mormon studies, characterizes this work as "an intellectual biography" (5), it is not a memoir in the form of Leonard J Arrington's 1998 Adventures of a Church Historian. Instead, Shipps has brought together a diverse collection of seventeen essays written over some twenty years. These essays sum up the author's penetrating observations concerning the craft and challenges of Mormo n history. Seven have been previously published in "relatively unknown articles and book chapters" (4), with the remainder published here for the first time. Shipps occupies a somewhat unique status as a socalled "inside-outsider"—a non-Mormon scholar seeking to present Latter-day Saint history in a scholarly yet sensitive manner

Undoubtedly the most valuable essay is "From Satyr to Saint: American Perceptions of the Mormons, 1860-1960," written years ago and widely circulated in manuscript form but published here for the first time Meticulously researched, "From Satyr to Saint" utilizes "content analysis" and "survey research techniques." Through careful examination of non-Mormon periodicals from 1860 to 1960, Shipps shows how non-Mormon perceptions of the

Latter-day Saints gradually changed from intense antagonism/disdain to respect and admiration.

Also enlightening are two companio n essays Th e first, "Surveying the Mormon Image since 1960," provides a valuable overview of contemporary non-Mormo n perceptions of the Latter-day Saints Shipps observes that "Mormonism is rapidly losing the protection of minority religious status" and is no longer immune from critical examination of its doctrines and practices (112). She also concludes that "never again is there likely to be a single Mormon image It is much more probable that along with nuance will come multiple images of the Latter-day Saints" (115).

The second essay, "From Gentile to Non-Mormon: Mormon Perceptions of the Other," provides an engaging overview of changing Latter-day Saint images of non-Mormons The initial formation of such images was largely influenced by emerging Latter-day Saints ethnicity as they identified themselves as the literal descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob As self-proclaimed members of the House of Israel, they labeled non-Mormon s "Gentiles." During the nineteenth-century peak of Mormonnon-Mormon conflict, "Gentile" became synonymous with the term "anti-Mormon." But over time, as the larger society came to view the Saints more favorably, Latter-day Saints in turn viewed others more positively, to the point of abandoning the term "Gentile " altogether and utilizing instead the ter m "nonMormon" or "non-member."

In other essays, Shipps points to three basic challenges facing scholars brave or foolhardy enough to do Mormon history. The first, discussed in "Gentiles, Mormons, and the History of the American West," involves the fact that Mormon history, despite being part of the larger story of the American West, "is frequently neglected or altogether overlooked." Through a colorful metaphor, Shipps laments that western historians "shape the western story like a doughnut, circling all around the Great Basin...telling nearly every western story except the Mormon one" (19-21). A second challenge is that Mormon history (like all religious history) is written for two different audiences, often with conflicting perceptions and objectives. One audience, made up of the community of believers (be they Mormon or otherwise), favors a faith-affirming, heroic approach, whereas a second audience, made up of "the general public" and oriented toward academia, favors a more secular approach, wanting religious history presented from a social/scientific perspective (171-73)

A third challenge involves the negative reaction to Mormo n historical scholarship from church officials at the highest levels,

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increasingly evident over the past twenty years Most outspoken has been Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the Council of the Twelve, who on various occasions has condemned frank portrayals of the LDS past influenced by the so-called "Ne w Mormo n History." Packer has explicitly warned "historians that LDS history was escaping the informal monitoring that made possible the classification of LDS history into clearly defined Mormo n and anti-Mormon categories" (384)

Space does not permit discussion of all the acute observations made by the author through the rich variety of essays in this volume. Shipps also offers tantalizing glimpses of her background, immediate family, and personal religious beliefs But this reviewer would have liked more on these subjects, which raises a number of questions. In what ways were the author's perceptions of the Mormon past affected by her having been born and raised in the deep South—an area notoriously noted for its strong antiMormon heritage? Shipps's southern heritage surely must have influenced the choice of topic for her first published essay, "Second-Class Saints" (1962), which examined the status of blacks within Mormonism.

Also wha t were th e influences of th e author's family? Specifically what impact did Shipps's parents and other birth family members (nowhere even mentioned) have in forming the author's perceptions? This seems relevant, given the central role assigned to family within Latter-day Saint culture A final, particularly cogent, question concerns the impact of Shipps's Protestant background and personal beliefs as an active practicing Methodist Revealing is the author's confession that her "Methodist commitment" has not only continued but "even strengthened...over the many years that I have had the opportunity to learn more about Mormonism" (336-37) Despite these questions, Jan Shipps has produced an important work, essential reading for serious students of Mormon studies. It was most deserving of being honored with the Mormon History Association 2000 Best Book Award

NEWELL G BRINGHURST College of the Sequoias Visalia, California

Worldviews and the American West: The Life of the Place Itself

Edited by Polly Steward, Steve Siporin, C.W Sullivan III, and Suzi Jones

(Logan: Utah State University Press, 2000. viii + 257 pp. Paper, $19.95.)

Worldviews and the American West: The Life of the Place Itself is a festschrift for distinguished folklorist of the American West and current director of the folklore studies program at Utah State University, Barre Toelken As festschrifts go, one can usually expect an uneven and scattered thematic array of essays by scholars, former students, and colleagues, focused somewhat loosely on the area of study where the honored individual made significant contributions Oftentimes the essays are a combination of new material and dated, republished versions of earlier work This is not the case, however, with Worldviews and the American West.

Of the seventeen essays that comprise this collection, only five are reprinted and one of these, "The Language of Animals," is a fitting personal essay by naturalist writer and fellow Oregonian Barry Lopez. Lopez's essay grounds the rest of the essays into an American West which is all at once wild, part of a natural ecosystem, expanding, and succumbing to modernization, but at the same time it communicates a sense of place that is irrevocably tied to a landscape Says Lopez, "When I walk in the woods or along the creeks, I'm looking for integration, not conversation. I want to be bound more deeply into the place, to be included, even if only as a witness, in the events that animate the landscape" (12)

It is this "integration" that the editors (indeed former students of Barre Toelken) and contributors use as their approach to this fine collection of essays. Each essay uses a particular lens to look at the American West, "variously applying Toelken's path-breaking ideas about worldview to the topic of the American West, a region that is both prominent in his work and a source of endless fascination" to the contributors of the collection (1)

Lopez's essay also reminds readers of the diversity of the ecosystem we call the "American West," a diversity not only in terms of the ethnicity of its inhabitants but also one in terms of the languages of landscapes and how those languages shape ideas of the western environment and the worldviews of its inhabitants. For example, in his essay "Blue Shadows on Human Drama," Hal Cannon writes about his quest to find and collect environmentally sensitive songs and stories having to do with the American West but discovering instead how "the cowboy is the symbolic recipient of an enchanted melding of western landscape through human

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drama" (33) This drama, according to Cannon, is played out on the western landscape, where humans from many corners of the earth, domesticated and wild animals, and frontier wilderness rely on each other for long and "trying odysseys" (33)

With the study of the cowboy there are many jumping-off points. A collection of the kind described herein would be incomplete without essays dealing with cultural archetypes: the outlaw, "Jesse James: An American Outlaw" (Sullivan III); the modern regional folk hero, "John Campbell's Adventure, and the Ecology of Story" (Ramsey); Indians, "Faith of Ou r Fathers" (Venn), "Th e Coquelle Indians and the Cultural 'Black Hole' of the Southern Oregon Coast" (Wasson), and "Raven and the Tide: A Tlingit Narrative" (Dauenhauer and Dauenhauer); and western communities, "'Two Moonlight Rides and a Picnic Lunch': Memories of Childhood in a Logging Community" (Scofield), "The Concept of the West and Other Hindrances to the Study of Mormon Folklore" (Wilson), and "Visible Landscapes/Invisible People: Negotiating the Power of Representation in a Mining Community" (McCarl)

What makes this an especially compelling collection, however, is the inclusion of essays that go beyond what one might expect to find in a collection of this type, namely, silent voices of invisible humans : women , "I n He r Ow n Words: Women' s Frontie r Friendships in Letters, Diaries, and Reminiscences" (Brady); borderland cultures, "A Diversity of Dead Helpers: Folk Saints of the US-Mexico Borderlands" (Griffith); animals, "Tall Tales and Sales" (Siporin); and transients, "Local Character" (Stafford), all of whom are woven into the fabric of the American landscape

Finally, issues of modernit y and post-modernit y and the representation and commodification of western icons and material culture are addressed in "Icons of Immortality: Forest Lawn and the American Way of Death" (Oring), and "Ride 'Em Barbie Girl: Commodifying Folklore, Place, and the Exotic" (Thomas).

Enthusiasts of western American studies, folklore, history, and literature will find this collection an important and valuable lens into slices of American culture that are rarely examined. More important, the book is a tribute to the significant contributions and influence of American West scholar Barre Toelken

GEORGE H SCHOEMAKER Utah Arts Council, Folk Arts Program

UTA H STAT E HISTORICA L SOCIET Y

Department of Community and Economic Development Division of State History

BOAR D O E STAT E HISTOR Y

RICHARD W SADLER, Ogden, 2003, Chair

PAM MILLER, Price, 2003, Vice Chair

GARY N.ANDERSON, Logan, 2005

PAUL ANDERSON, Salt Lake City, 2003

KENDALL W BROWN, Provo, 2005

MAX J EVANS, Salt Lake City, Secretary

MICHAEL W HOMER, Salt Lake City, 2005

KIM A. HYATT, Bountiful, 2005

JOEL C.JANETSKI, Provo, 2005

ROSS PETERSON, Logan, 2003

PAUL D.WILLIAMS, Salt Lake City, 200 3

WALLY WRIGHT, Salt Lake City, 2005

ADMINISTRATIO N

MAX J. EVANS, Director

WILSON G. MARTIN, Associate Director

PATRICIA SMITH-MANSFIELD, Assistant Director

STANFORD J. LAYTON, Managing Editor

KEVIN T.JONES, State Archaeologist

The Utah State Historical Society was organized in 1897 by public-spirited Utahns to collect, preserve, and publish Utah and related history Today, under state sponsorship, the Society fulfills its obligations by publishing the Utah Historical Quarterly and other historical materials; collecting historic Utah artifacts; locating, documenting, and preserving historic and prehistoric buildings and sites; and maintaining a specialized research library. Donations and gifts to the Society's programs, museum, or its library are encouraged, for only through such means can it live up to its responsibility of preserving the record of Utah's past.

This publication has been funded with the assistance of a matching grant-in-aid from the National Park Service, under provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 as amended

This program receives financial assistance for identification and preservation of historic properties under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 The US Department of the Interior prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, or handicap in its federally assisted programs If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Ofiace of Equal Opportunity, National Park Service, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C., 20240