| 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 |
The unique landscape features a geological wonderland that has been the backdrop for feature films including; “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid,” and “Jeremiah Johnson.” While traveling through the picturesque scenery, you might recognize a scene or two. Included in the heritage area is the birthplace of Utah outlaws, Butch Cassidy and Matt Warner. Matt was a lifelong friend and a gang member alongside of Butch. Many movies were filmed in the scenic Under the Rim District of the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area.
In the later part of the 1800s the Mormon pioneers began their great relocation to the west. They trekked 1,400 miles from Illinois to the Great Salt Lake. This mass-Exodus brought about colonization in Utah, Nevada, the southwest corner of Wyoming, the southeast corner of Idaho, southeast Oregon, and a large portion of southern and eastern California.
