| OCR Text |
Show Utah State Historical Society 300 Rio Grande Salt Lake Cit17. I'T 84101 ( 801) 533- 3300 FAX ( 801) 533- 3303 Culture and Young Adults in Dixie SETTLEIRNS U TAH'SD IXIE FACED MANY DIFFICULTIES in establishing their villages in a beautiful but harsh desert environment. Even when food was scarce, though, the people " yearned for schools, for libraries, for concerts, drama debating societies, clubs, lyceums, and lectures," Lorraine T. Washbum wrote. The young adults of Dixie satisfied that need in somewhat surprising ways, according to Washburn: ' In 1873 a Young Men's Historical Club was organized. Under the solemn labels ' United We Stand. Divided, We Fall' and ' We study the past, to judge of the future,' the young men met, organized, drew up a constitution and bylaws, wrote two poetical mottos and assigned topics for discussion. Although the minutes of the meetings are brief, they show besides the expected religious topics for discussion such subjects as ' The Heroes and Patriots of the South, ' ' Matrimony, Marriage and Murder, ' ' Navy Architecture, ' ' History of Shorthand, ' ' Catacombs of Paris,' ' Chivalry, Where it Originated.' The secretary noted that one lecture by Robert McQuarrie on William the Conqueror's Courtship was ' very comical,' although he ' spoke for one hour. ' The club continued until July of 1875. ' The young ladies, no less anxious to improve themselves than their gentleman friends, painstakingly copied or wrote little essays which they assembled into elegant papers titled nte Little Girls Magazine, Young Ladies ' Magazine and me Beehive. The most ambitious of these undertakings, The Beehive, was beautifully illustrated and copied in a meticulous script that noted, among other things, that ' a girl with bangs is like a cow with a board over half of its face .... And be she ever so meek and lovely with her hair combed back off her face.. . , when she hacks it off and peeks out of bangs the very devil is in her eyes and actions.' The moral of the story, as no proper young miss would fail to observe, was that no man would take to wife a ' bang- haired' girl. " Again the girls were exhorted not to let themselves become ' mere ornaments of society'; for, they were warned, there is nothing so despicable as the young lady who flirts and fidgets and fusses with nothing in her head from morning until night but fancy clothes and dancing and games of cards. This warning of the evils of a life sedentary must have seemed just a bit superfluous to girls who rose at daylight to milk cows, tend to household chores, and work in the fields until darkness and fatigue forced them into early beds. ' Whatever the tenor of the articles, the magazines must have proved popular because they continued over a period of five years." Of course, Dixie's young men and women also participated in the St. George Drama Association. Theater was " by all odds the favorite expression of culture and the only serious rival of the dances and balls. " They also attended art classes, lectures, and lyceums. And the ( more) community as a whole worked hard to establish a free public library in St. George, the first such in Utah. Source: Lorraine T. Washburn, " Culture in Dixie, " Utah Historical Quarterly 29 ( 196 1). THEH ISTORBLYA ZER is produced by the Utah State Historical Society and funded in part by a grant from the Utah Statehood Centennial Commission. For more information about the Historical Society telephone 533- 3500. 96041 1 ( MBM) THE HISTORY BLAZER WM'S OF UTAH'S PAST FROM THE Utah State Historical Society 300 Rio Gra~~ deS alt Lake City. [' T 8410 1 ( 801) 533- 3500 FAX ( 801) 333- 3503 Brigham Young's Personal Finances IT TOOK YEARS TO SETTLE BRIGHAM YOUNG'S ESTATE because of the difficulty of sorting his personal financial records ( 454 books altogether) from his church books ( 45 shelf feet of them). Although strict differentiation between his two roles was not always made on the books, the clerks did make a general distinction. For instance, separate books were kept for three " Brigham Young" mercantiles. One was the Tithing House, wholly a church operation. The second, called both " Brigham Young's store* and " the Church Store," was churched only in that Young used it occasionally to pay public works employees but primarily to supply his private homes and business ventures. Edwin D. Woolley, as general manager of Young's private business affairs, ran this store. Finally, a small family storeroom was kept by Hiram B. Clawson, Young's personal secretary, next to Young's office. Woolley's store stocked staples such as flour and meat, while Clawson ordered niceties such as yam, lace, and medicines. Among Brigham Young's private endeavors was his part ownership of the Globe Bakery. The Globe was both a public bakery and a supplier of the Young household. Employees of his other companies had accounts there, and Young ( through Woolley) provisioned the bakery with butter, flour, and wood. A periodic total was taken of charges and credits. Usually, Young came out owing. Rather than paying the balance in cash, he settled by exchanging property or relinquishing owner shares. Another Brigham Young company was the Young & Little Lumber Mill up City Creek Canyon. Feramorz Little was part owner and operator with Young the controlling owner. Employee Samuel Woolley ' s diary reveals the extent and style of Young's involvement in the company. Samuel Woolley returned in August 1856 from a mission to India. He spent his first day home with his family. The second day he visited his brother Edwin D. Woolley and other relatives. The third day he went uptown to settle his debts, and the fourth day he called on ' Prest." Young, who was not in. After lunch Samuel tried again. He and Young spent the rest of the day together and had dinner that night in the Beehive House. Presumably Brigham had discussed with Edwin and " Ferrymore" Little the matter of Samuel's working at the mill. Samuel's diary mentions a job Brigham had for him to do when he got his health back " in a month or so." Two days later, meeting Samuel uptown, Young told him more about the work, which was to be done " as soon as Samuel was ready to do anything." Two weeks later Young sent for Samuel, who went to " the office* but could not see Young. The next day he tried again but was able to see Young for only a few minutes. The third ( more) |
