Tag Archives: Press Releases – 2001

Famous and Infamous Lecture Series Wins Award – Press Release 11/12/2001

11/12/01 08:31
CONTACT: MONTE BONA
(435) 462-2502

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A lecture series that examined “The Famous and Infamous” of Utah’s U.S. Highway 89 and celebrated the history of the six counties along the historic route has won an award from the Utah Humanities Council.

Sponsored by the Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance and Sanpete County Heritage Council, the lecture series focused on people who lived in or had an impact on the cities and towns along U.S. Highway 89. The lectures, held last winter and this spring, were given by professors and educators and were presented in Sanpete, Sevier, Piute, Kane, Wayne and Garfield counties.

The talks were free and open to the public. Topics focused on historical personalities such as Utah artist Avard Fairbanks, Butch Cassidy, Hyrum BeBee, and John D. Lee. There was also a presentation on how the famous and infamous of U.S. 89 were depicted by Hollywood.

The Humanities Council recognized the series during its annual awards dinner.

The lectures were also filmed by KBYU-Channel 11 and will later be included in a documentary that will be distributed to the media during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games to promote the Heritage Highway.

 

JOHN D. LEE TOPIC OF LAST ‘FAMOUS AND INFAMOUS’ LECTURE – Press Release 4/25/2001

04/25/01 08: 30
CONTACT: MONTE BONA
(435) 462-2502

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JOHN D. LEE TOPIC OF LAST
‘FAMOUS AND INFAMOUS’ LECTURE APRIL 25

John D. Lee is the topic of the final talk in the “Famous and Infamous Along Utah’ s Highway 89” lecture series, which will be presented by Weber State University Professor Gene Sessions April 25 in Panguitch.

The talk- will be at 7 p.m. at Panguitch High School, 3 90 E. 100 South, and is the last talk of a lecture series that highlighted people and events that took place along the Heritage Highway.

“John D. Lee was a great contributor to the colonization of Utah,” says Monte Bona, a member of the Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance and Sanpete County Heritage Council. “But his contributions are often overlooked by the controversy surrounding the Mountain Meadows Massacre.”

Lee was a Mormon leader and one of the key founders of the southern portion of Utah, but he was the only person tried and executed for his role in the Mountains Meadow Massacre. He is buried in Panguitch

For more information, call (435) 462-2502.

TALK ON ‘FAMOUS AND INFAMOUS’ ALONG U.S. HIGHWAY 89 – Press Release 4/23/2001

04/23/01 8:30
CONTACT: MONTE BONA
(435) 462-2502
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETALK ON ‘FAMOUS AND INFAMOUS’ ALONG U.S. HIGHWAY 89
TO BE HELD APRIL 23

Brigham Young University film scholar Jim D’Arc will give a talk on “The Famous and Infamous Along Utah’s Highway 89 as Depicted by Hollywood” April 23 at Kanab High School.

The speech is part of an ongoing lecture series highlighting people and events that took place along the Heritage Highway.

“It is very appropriate that the talk is being held in Kanab, as that city is often described as ‘Little Hollywood’ because so many movies are made there, “said Monte Bona, a member of the Heritage Highway 89 Alliance and Sanpete County Heritage Council. The speech begins at 7 pm at the high school, located at 59 East Red Shadow Lane. The talks, which are sponsored in part by the Utah Humanities Council are free and open to the public.

D’Arc’s talk will be a continuation of a presentation he gave in Kanab in January that was part of statehood day and focused on the importance of the film industry in Kanab. The upcoming speech will look at movies filmed in Kanab, such as The Lone Ranger and Calamity Jane. and how those characters were depicted on film.

For more information on the talk, contact the Sanpete County Heritage Council at (435) 462-2502.

BUTCH CASSIDY: HISTORY VS. HOLLYWOOD SUBJECT OF LECTURE – Press Release 4/18/2001

04/10/01 08:30
CONTACT: MONTE BONA
(435) 462-2502

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BUTCH CASSIDY: HISTORY VS. HOLLYWOOD
SUBJECT OF LECTURE

How much of what we know about Butch Cassidy is fact and how much is fiction, driven by Hollywood movies and legends? That question will be explored at an April 18 lecture at the Piute Court House in Junction. It is part of a lecture series highlighting “The Famous and Infamous” of Utah’s U.S. Highway 89.

Speaker Paul Turner will look at the life of Butch Cassidy, who was born Robert LeRoy Parker in Beaver and grew up in a log cabin near Circleville. Turner, a storyteller, will talk about the history and legend of Butch Cassidy. A second lecture on Butch Cassidy will be held in June in Wayne County, exploring the connection between Cassidy and Robber’s Roost

In addition, at the April 18 lecture there will be a secondary discussion on Utahan Hyrum BeBee and whether he was The Sundance Kid.

All of the lectures in the series, which will be held throughout cities and towns along the Heritage Highway U.S. 89, are free and open to the public and are funded in part by the Utah Council for the Humanities. They are also being filmed and will later be included in a documentary that will air on PBS and be distributed to the media during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Other upcoming talks include:

— April 23: “Famous and Infamous Along Highway 89 as depicted by Hollywood,” Jim D’Arc, Kanab.

— April 25: “John D. Lee,” featuring Weber State University Professor Gene Sessions, Panguich High School.

TALK ON AVARD FAIRBANKS KICKS OFF U.S. HIGHWAY 89 LECTURE SERIES – Press Release 4/10/2001

CONTACT: MONTE BONA
(435) 462-2502

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TALK ON AVARD FAIRBANKS KICKS OFF
U.S. HIGHWAY 89 LECTURE SERIES

Utah artist Avard Fairbanks, especially known for his sculptures of Abraham Lincoln, is the topic of the first lecture in a new series that will highlight “The Famous and Infamous”‘ of Utah’s U.S. Highway 89.

Vern Swanson, director of the Springville Art Museum, who knew Fairbanks personally, will give the lecture April 11 at 7 p.m. at the Fairview Museum. All of the lectures in the series, which will be held throughout cities and towns along the Heritage Highway U.S. 89, are free and open to the public.

“I will be talking about the man and his work, he was a dynamic person. Anyone around him got a mindful of information, he was amazing and had a tremendous gift for guile,” Swanson says. “When I say a mindful of information, I mean he could talk about the evils of modernism to how communists were taking over the drinking water,” he says with a laugh.

“But he was also a genius at what he did, he was one of the best in his field. He also truly believed that art had the ability to refine the soul.”

Lincoln was one of Fairbanks’ favorite subjects, and probably the subject matter for which Fairbanks is most well-known, Swanson says. But Fairbanks, who was born in Payson and died a decade ago, had many other “favorite subjects,” and is even credited for being the first person to introduce “the nude” in to Utah art, Swanson says.

Fairbanks’ works can be found throughout the world, country, and state of Utah, including several pieces both at the Springville Art Museum and Fairview Museum.

“I knew him fairly well,” Swanson says. “He even let me take his chisel and mallet and work on his work. He gives you his tools and then puts his hands over yours and begins to work as if you aren’t there.”

Swanson, who has been director of the Springville Art Museum for 21 years, was an assistant professor of art history at Auburn University and worked at the National Gallery of Art before coming to Utah- “My wife is a Utah girl. I absolutely love it here, especially at the museum you couldn’t pry me out of there.”

Other talks in the series are:

April 18: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” featuring Paul Turner, Piute court house in Junction.

April 23: “Famous and Infamous Along Highway 89 as depicted by Hollywood,” Jim D’Arc, Kanab.

April 25; “John D. Lee,” featuring Weber State University Professor Gene Sessions, Panguitch High School.

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