In This Issue

Freedom of the press is one of the cornerstones of American democracy. The challenges of publishing newspapers in a rapidly changing technological world, coupled with reduced staff and fewer pages, the reduction in coverage by contemporary newspapers appears to threaten this pillar of freedom. And so too is our history. A glance at the sources recorded in the footnotes of the articles in this as well as in most past issues of the Utah Historical Quarterly reveal that newspapers are a valuable source of information. Indeed, many articles may not have been written without the information found in past issues of newspapers available in libraries and increasingly on-line. At a time when digitization initiatives are making back issues of newspapers more accessible to researchers that same technology presents challenges to the continuation of these important instruments of democracy and sources of history.

The Broad Ax, a Salt Lake City newspaper edited by African American Julius F. Taylor, is an important example of how newspapers are an irreplaceable source for history. As our first article demonstrates, the pages of the newspaper published from 1895 to 1899 provides a valuable history of Salt Lake City and its African American community at the end of the nineteenth century that otherwise would not be available. When Taylor left Salt Lake City for Chicago where he continued publishing the Broad Ax in that city for another decade, Utah lost a priceless resource for recording its history.

Panorama of Alta.

UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

While access to morning newspapers is taken for granted, even more so is illumination of our streets, stores, offices, buildings, and homes by electricity. As our second article reveals, this was not always the case. Before electricity lit up the night skies of Salt Lake City, an unsuccessful campaign was waged to replace a gas lighting system that had appeared as a harbinger of progress when it replaced the individual flickering candles, torches, and lanterns and the prevalent darkness of the past. The article records how late nineteenth century political and business leaders responded to what some perceived of as a threat while others saw it as a golden opportunity of new technology.

Our third article chronicles the contribution of a dedicated group of Catholic nuns, the Sisters of Mount Benedict Monastery, in providing much needed health care to Ogden and the Weber County area, beginning in the 1940s and continuing to the present.

Utahns and visitors from all over the world have first encountered Regulator Johnson as the name for a popular expert ski run at the Snowbird Ski Resort in Little Cottonwood Canyon east of Salt Lake City. Until now the origin of the name has been forgotten, if, in fact, it was ever known. Nineteen-year-old John S. Johnson immigrated to the United States from his native Norway in 1863 and by 1870 was living at the mining town of Alta. He spent the rest of his life prospecting and mining in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons.The story of how he became known as Regulator Johnson and his tragic life is the subject for our final article for this Summer issue. All four articles remind us that dedicated writers with access to useable sources can open doors to our understanding of the past.

ON THE COVER: Sisters Estelle Nordick, left, and Mary Margaret Clifford, right, with newborn infants at the St. Benedict’s Hospital in Ogden. MOUNT BENEDICT MONASTERY.