| DATE 12/18/2004 7:15 AM |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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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. Library Receives Early Christmas Gift from Arts Council |
| The Folk Arts Program of the Utah Arts Council and the Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council are giving Mt. Pleasant a special gift this holiday season.They have donated 46 cassette recordings by folklorist Jens Lund to the Mt. Pleasant library. Lund interviewed a number of local artists and historians about the traditions and lifestyle of Sanpete County residents as part of a project to document and present local culture.
The project, “Utah’s Sanpete Valley: The Heart of the Mormon West,” produced a driving tour of Sanpete County. The tapes are 90-minute “history lessons” of the Sanpete County region, complete with stories and anecdotes told by people residing in the area. The tour allows people to listen as they explore and pass through the region in their vehicles. The package also included a written guide with maps, photos, illustrations and text featuring local residents and attractions . The collection of cassette recordings donated to the library include interviews with local residents Victor Rasmussen, Helen Dyreng, Senator Leonard Blackham, Mack and Ora Morley and Virginia Nielson, to name just a few. There are also recordings of performances by Dee Blackburn, Aden “V” Johnson, Joe Frishknecht, Hilmar Peterson, Nyra Nielson and others. Transcriptions of many of the tape-recorded interviews are also being donated. “These recordings will provide a unique resource for those researching local history for years to come,” says Carol Edison, folks arts coordinator for the Utah Arts Council. “The Utah Arts Council and the Sanpete Heritage Council are delighted for them to be housed in Mt. Pleasant’s fine library. We encourage anyone interested in learning more about Sanpete Valley and its people to listen to the tapes and learn from some of the people who’ve helped create that history.” The tapes are also available for purchase at tourist centers and museums throughout the area, including the Fairview Museum, Mt. Pleasant City and Ephraim Co-op. The 90-minute program is available on two tapes or compact discs. For more information about the Folk Arts Program of the Utah Arts Council and it’s programs to document and present traditional Utah arts and culture, visit www.http://arts.utah.gov/folkarts or call 801-533-5760. # # # |
| For more information Contact:Monte Bona Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council (435) 462-2502 |
Holiday Celebrations Scheduled in Sanpete County – Press Release 11/29/04
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Mt. Pleasant Violin Maker Forming Ties with China – Press Release 11/19/04
| DATE 11/19/2004 10:11 AM |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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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. Mt. Pleasant Violin Maker Forming Ties with China |
| This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council about the people, places and preservation efforts along U.S. Highway 89, the Heritage Highway. Paul Hart is used to teaching himself new skills. As a teenager, he learned to make cellos and violins on his own, and now runs a violin-making school and studio in Mt. Pleasant.So the fact that he has once again become his own teacher is not a surprise. But his chosen subject is: Mandarin. Hart has been trying to learn the language ever since he traveled to China a year ago to teach violin making.
He quickly became enamored by the country, its landscape, people, and history, and is now is hoping to learn more about it by studying its language. He plans to return to China to again next month for another teaching session. “I’m looking forward to it, I really enjoyed my last trip and would love to actually live there for a little while and teach,” Hart says during an interview from The Tree’s Breath Violin Making School in Mt. Pleasant. Hart was asked to go to China by his former student, Jay Ifshin, who owns violin-making companies in Berkeley, California, and Guangzhou, China. “I went over as a consultant. They don’t have a long tradition of violin making in China, so I was helping them with style and details. Their goal is to produce the highest-quality violins in China.” Hart, who has been teaching violin making for decades, said the experience was very different from teaching in the United States. Here he teaches to students who pay tuition to learn the craft, and it takes about four years to become a violin maker. In China, he was teaching people who are employees of a company. “They are paid to make violins. I don’t know if that is the reason, but they learn a lot faster. I tell them what to do, show them how to do it, and they get it done,” Hart says. Many of the tools used in the craft are different in China, as are some of the techniques. But his Chinese pupils are open and receptive to new ideas and concepts, he says. Hart was able to spend about a week traveling in China during his last visit. “I took about 500 pictures, it was just amazing.” Guangzhou is located about 100 miles from Hong Kong, and he traveled with a tour group of native residents to Beijing and other cities. “I saw quite a bit of the country. It was very interesting traveling with Chinese citizens to see parts of China that they had never before seen,” he says. Hart hopes to do more sightseeing during his return visit. He’d also like to form more ties to the country. “Some of my other former students are interested in starting a violin-making school over there. I don’t know if it will happen or not, we’ll see.” For now, Hart is looking forward to his trip and continues to teach and build violins in Mt. Pleasant. He opened his school about six years ago in a 100-year-old building on the city’s Main Street. Before moving to Sanpete County, which he chose for its rustic, rural lifestyle, Hart had been teaching his craft and living in Salt Lake City since 1969. He has also spent time in Mexico teaching and making violins at a special art school. # # # |
| For more information Contact:Monte Bona Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council (435) 462-2502 |
Drive-In Is Longtime Hometown Favorite – Press Release 10/27/2004
| DATE 10/27/2004 7:15 AM |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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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. Drive-In Is Longtime Hometown Favorite |
| It is been an icon in Mt. Pleasant for more than five decades. For many, its name is synonymous with fun, good times and comfort food. We’re talking, of course, about Rodgers Dairy Freeze.It has proudly stood on Main Street and U.S. Highway 89 for 50 years, selling ice cream, hamburgers, French fries, onion rings, and even salads and pasta to locals and visitors alike.
Over the years, it has seen many owners, most recently Rodger and Jenni Johansen, but its mainstay has remained the same: good times, good food and a helping hometown goodness on the side. The Dairy Freeze is a little lesson in local history itself. The L.U. Mumford family, who built the Dairy Freeze, served a prominent resident from Moroni who was the bishop of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ward, so the story goes. He ordered a sweet combination of ingredients that included pineapple, strawberry, chocolate so often that it became known as the Bishop Shake. It is still on the menu, along with about a dozen other combinations and flavors. The Johansen say they keep people coming back by changing the menu often, trying out new things and giving their customers a chance to have their say. They also try to make their business part of the community, even offering free shakes to anyone willing to donate historical photos of Mt. Pleasant or Sanpete County. # # # |
| For more information Contact:Monte Bona Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council (435) 462-2502 |
Preserving “Main Streets” a Priority in Cities Along U.S. Highway 89 – Press Release 10/08/2004
| DATE 10/08/2004 1:44 PM |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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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. Preserving “Main Streets” a Priority in Cities Along U.S. Highway 89 |
| The cities and towns along U.S. Highway 89 are continuing their efforts to restore their historical Main Streets, with many of the cities making Main Street preservation projects a priority. As well, many of the local governments are making such projects part of their master plans, emphasizing that historical preservation is a key to economic success.Indeed, traveling along U.S. Highway 89 is like stepping back in time. Many of the buildings along the route have been lovingly preserved, restored and renovated. Most of the preservation efforts have been spearheaded by local citizens’ groups and supported by grants from private and state and federal government agencies, in coordination with the Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council.Here are highlights of some of the many important Main Street projects that have been completed or initiated in the region:FAIRVIEW Fairview Museum of History and Art. The building was constructed as a school in 1900 of quarry-sandstone. It burned down in 1916 and was rebuilt in 1917. However, the roof design was significantly changed during the reconstruction. The Fairview Museum Corporation restored the building to its former glory. There was a complete structural reconstruction and profile-design restoration of the roof in 1999, which brought it back to its original appearance. The interior has also been refurbished as galleries. Main Street: The Citizens’ Advisory Committee, coordinated by Mary Goodwin, worked to make improvements along the historical Main Street. This included renovated existing historic buildings, improving the downtown park, getting new businesses to locate downtown and planting trees and flowers. MT. PLEASANT SPRING CITY FOUNTAIN GREEN Theatre & DUP Building: The 100-year-old theatre and dance hall was restored for use as a community center, where local artisans and craft makers can display their talents and wares. The structure is really two buildings: one side was used as a theater, the other, as a dance hall and later a cultural hall by the LDS church. The project was supported by the Fountain Green Heritage Committee, the Eccles Foundation, and local volunteers. Local volunteers also helped restore the Daughters of the Utah Pioneer Building. A former Bishop s warehouse, the structure was built in 1906. The building is now used by the DUP for its meetings and as a museum. EPHRAIM Ephraim Co-op: A large stone structure, the Ephraim co-op was built in the late 1870s as a cooperative store and is now home to a well-known handicraft store and museum. These two structures are good examples of the kinds of buildings Ephraim hopes to improve and protect through its new master plan. The city recently approved a new plan that calls for maintaining historically important buildings along Main Street and in other sections of town. MANTI Historic Manti House Inn: Run by Jennifer and Jason Nicholes, the renovated inn was built in the late 1800s and originally to provide housing for people working on the Manti LDS temple. building sat vacant for several years until it was turned into a bed and breakfast in 1985. Since that time, it has been a popular attraction for visitors to the Manti pageant in the summer, as well as to newlyweds and couples celebrating anniversaries. It also has two banquet halls that are popular places for wedding luncheons. GUNNISON MORONI |
| For more information Contact:Monte Bona Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council (435) 462-2502 |
