Miriam B. Murphy History Blazer, January 1996 “When a Chinese host invites you to take a seat at his table, you in a sense become a member of the family,” according to a report in the Deseret Evening News of February 8, 1902. The full-page, illustrated article noted that hundreds of “prominent” Salt Lakers would visit Chinatown during the New …
The Pasta King of the Mountain West
Miriam B. Murphy History Blazer, May 1996 At the turn of the century Antonio Ferro opened a small store on West Second South in Salt Lake City where he sold groceries and tobacco products. In March 1905 the budding entrepreneur married Giovannina Calfa and soon thereafter launched the Western Macaroni Manufacturing Company. Eventually marketed under the “Queen’s Taste” label, no …
Soren Hanson’s “House That Eggs Built”
Miriam B. Murphy History Blazer, January 1996 Beginning about 1880 the economy of Cache Valley began to evolve from its pioneer subsistence roots to a commercial economy with highly specialized private enterprises. A leading figure in this transition was Hyrum businessman Soren Hanson. Born in Hyrum on May 2, 1863, he had become the largest egg dealer in the Intermountain …
Convict Labor Helped to Build Utah’s Road
Allan Kent Powell History Blazer, January 1995 The use of convict labor has been a well-established part of America’s penal institutions for centuries. Whether doing forced labor on one of the infamous “chain-gangs,” working to pick up litter along Utah’s highways, or serving as volunteer forest fire fighters in some of the West’s most deadly and destructive fires, prison inmates …
The Shooting of Arthur Brown, Ex-Senator From Utah
Linda Thatcher History Blazer, November 1995 On December 13, 1906, Arthur Brown, one of the first two U.S. senators elected after Utah gained statehood, died in the Emergency Hospital in Washington, D.C., from complications following a gunshot wound. He had been shot on December 8 by Anne Maddison Bradley, his mistress of several years, after a turbulent and well-publicized love …
This Radical Salt Lake Native Was Interred in the Kremlin Wall
Jeffrey D. Nichols History Blazer, June 1995 A native of Salt Lake City, William D. “Big Bill” Haywood, became the leader of the Industrial Workers of the World, one of the most famous (and infamous) labor organizations in American history. At the time of his 1917 arrest, the New York Times called him “the most hated and feared figure in America.” Born …
The Broad Ax and The Plain Dealer Kept Utah’s African Americans Informed
Jeffrey D. Nichols Although the 1890 census reported only 588 African Americans living in Utah—a figure that would almost double by 1910—Salt Lake City supported two black newspapers for several years during that time. Julius F. Taylor, born in Virginia but most recently from Fargo, North Dakota, edited and published the Broad Ax, a weekly newspaper, from August 1895 until …
African American Community and Politics, 1890–1910
Ronald G. Coleman Beehive History 19 Much has been written about politics at the turn of the century in Utah, especially the struggle to achieve statehood. Less well known are the political activities of blacks in that era. Two dynamic and colorful leaders—one a Republican and one a Democrat—emerged within the black community in the 1890s and took active roles …
“Dinosaur Rush” Created Excitement in Uinta Basin
Yvette D. Ison History Blazer, March 1995 During the 1870s Northeastern Utah became one of the sites associated with what some have called the “Dinosaur Rush.” Within the nation’s scientific community stories of dinosaur finds in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming created a fervor for excavations. Scientists scoured these areas in hopes of finding the biggest and most exotic dinosaur bones …
Legendary Mother Jones Came to Help Striking Utah Coal Miners
Jeffrey D. Nichols History Blazer, March 1995 Wherever American workers struggled to improve their conditions of labor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Mary Harris Jones was likely to be there. A tireless champion of workers’ rights, Mother Jones, as she was called, was involved in the great railroad strike of 1877, the Haymarket riot of 1896, and …