Conference Will Focus on Scandinavian Influence in West – Press Release 4/23/2004

DATE 04/23/2004 2:21 AM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Conference Will Focus on Scandinavian Influence in West

A conference dedicated to highlighting the cultural and historical influences of Scandinavian settlers will be held at Snow College May 27 & 28.“With the success of the Scandinavian Heritage Festival held in Ephraim each Memorial Day Weekend, the purpose of the conference is to give participants an understanding of the Scandinavian influence in the development of the West,” says Snow College Professor Kim Cragun, who is organizing the event, which is sponsored in part by the Utah Humanities Council.

Ephraim s Snow College was founded in 1888 by the Scandinavian pioneers that settled in the Sanpete Valley, which makes Snow College the perfect place to host a conference on Scandinavian Heritage, he adds.

The second-annual conference features keynote presentations by Lynn Poulson, a Professor of Family Studies at Snow College; Brad Taggart, an Instructor of Art at Snow College; and noted lecturer and author Paul Turner. There will also be concurrent workshops and a musical presentation of “Saints on the Sea.” The conference will be held in the historic Noyes Building’s Founders Hall at Snow College.

Poulson will speak at 9:15 a.m. Thursday on early Scandinavian families and families today. Taggart, a professor of art, will talk at 1:30 p.m. about renowned Danish-born painter C.C.A. Christensen, who converted to Mormonism and settled in Sanpete County. Christensen was best known for his paintings of pioneers and his Mormon Panorama, a monumental narrative that tells the history of the LDS Church. He was also a promoter of Scandinavian culture and taught Danish as well as drawing at Sanpete Stake Academy (later Snow College) in Ephraim.

Turner will give the keynote presentation on Friday at 11 a.m. on “Outlaws Along U.S. Highway 89.”

Conference registration begins at 8 a.m. Thursday. The cost is $20 in advance and $25 the day of the event. Cost includes a continental breakfast on Thursday. For more information contact Kim Cragun at (435) 283-4747 or Kim.Cragun@Snow.Edu.

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For more information Contact:Monte Bona
Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council
(435) 462-2502
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