Utah Heritage Project

Since 2004, the Wilson Folklore Archives has been involved with the Utah Heritage Project. Choosing different themes every year or so, we have looked at the orchards in Utah Valley, recreation and the environment in Provo Canyon and are currently working with the changing agrarian culture in Utah county.

Five groups of students looked at different aspects of of orchards focusing on values, fruit stands, families, foodways, and LDS and Catholic orchards. An exhibit was held and the text and pictures from the posters are available at http://lib.byu.edu/sites/muw/folklore/projects/fruits-of-their-labors/.

Also available are the exhibit texts and photos from our Provo Canyon project. The five groups of students looked at dating up the canyon, fly fishing, the hidden canyon communities, the wide variety of activities available, and the changes in the Stewart family who once owned the North Fork of the canyon. Once again the text and pictures from the resulting exhibit are available online.

Both of these projects were operated as three week summer schools in conjunction with the The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Students came from all over the United States with even two coming from the National Library of Egypt.

Since 2007 we have been studying the changing agrarian culture in Utah county. An honors seminar focused on this topic during spring term of 2007. Materials from the exhibit as well as papers written by the students will soon be available online.

This is an extremely rich area, and we are planning another honors seminar for Winter 2009. If you are a student, we would like to have you join us. If you are know or ever have been involved in agriculture, we would like to have you participate as an interviewee. Please call my students at 801-422-1368 or contact Kristi Young at 801-422-6041, if you are interested. We look forward to hearing from you.

Kristi Young, Curator Wilson Folklore Archives