Webb: The Town Photographer
Kendall Webb, born in West Virginia, moved to Park City in 1946. Prior to that, he worked…
Posts by Author: Mahala Ruddell
Stamping Out Dictators in World War II
The United States funded World War II in part through the sale of bonds to the public.…
Trained Safety Crews Helped Rescue Miners
The United States Bureau of Mines was founded in 1910, partly as a response to a rash…
Wish You Were Here
Countless of postcards like this one from 1907 were mailed to and from Park City between 1905…
A Shocking Crime in Old Park City
“One of the most foul and cowardly murders that has ever darkened the criminal record of Park…
Miner Survives Fall Down Shaft
In a remarkable feat of survival, on May 17, 1918, Elwin Stuart Maxim fell 1300 feet down…
Park City’s First (Short-lived) Hospital
Last week’s article explored the efforts of businessman E.H. Howard and Doctor Thomas Monahan to found and…
Opening the First Hospital in Park City
Many of you are familiar with the story of the Miners Hospital. You know that as Park…
Changing Standards for Milk
Public health became an increasingly prevalent concern in the United States in the late nineteenth century. As…
Park City Was Hometown to (In)Famous Artist
You don’t have to be a photography aficionado to have heard of Ansel Adams. Even if the…
Basketball on Skates!
Cliff Roach, Don Young, Cliff Street, Bud Tessman, Mel Fletcher, and John Novak play a game of…
Looking back at Park City one hundred years ago
As is tradition for this column as the year winds down, let’s take a look at Park…
News from the Western Front
The First World War, described at the time as “the war to end all wars,” officially ended…
A Parkite’s Letter Makes A Long Journey
By October 1919, World War I had officially been over for nearly a year and life, at…
Parkites Treated to Rare Display of the Aurora Borealis
Seeing the aurora borealis, or northern lights, is high on many people’s bucket lists. The vast majority…
Local Mining Men in Far-off Lands
When Park City mining men Colonel William M. Ferry and James Kescel, along with other prominent experts…
A Peruvian Expedition
On October 24, 1888, an expeditionary party consisting of Park City mining men Colonel William M. Ferry…
803 Norfolk and the History of Quarantine in Park City
Quarantine as we understand it was first implemented in Venice in the mid-14th century. In an effort…
The Larremores and 733 Woodside Avenue
The house at 733 Woodside Avenue stands out from its neighbors. While its floor plan is, at…
Historic Home Owner a Busy Parkite
Most of Park City’s historic houses follow a handful of standard architectural forms. The hall-parlor, noted for…
Park City Grew Into an Elegant Town
Three major factors are usually necessary to successfully usher a silver mining town beyond the immediate boom…
Food Will Win the War
Victory gardens first became popular in World War I, when wartime propaganda conceived of by the United…
A Celebration of Spring
It’s officially May and spring is in the air. It’s the time of year when various cultures,…
The Park City Lineman
“I am a lineman for the county, and I drive the main road searching in the sun…
A Public Library for Park City
“It seems evident to all that there is a crying need in our town, a live town…
An Earth-shaking Experience in San Francisco Felt by Parkites
In the pre-dawn hours of April 18, 1906, San Francisco was jolted awake by a violent earthquake.…
Taking Flight with Their Little Red Wagon
In celebration of “the power of imagination on wheels,” the last Wednesday of March each year is…
Air Mail One Legacy of WWI
Air travel throughout the United States today is so ubiquitous it’s taken for granted. On a personal…
If You Can’t Enlist, Invest!
When the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, thus entering the already years-old…
A Valentine’s Day Greeting
The above Valentine was sent to Elizabeth Nancarrow from her cousin Annie Bishop, ca.1910. It was included…
On My Honor, to Do My Best
The 108th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America is on February 8. The organization was created…
Live with One Leg or Die with Two
It’s no secret that mining was a dangerous occupation. Risk factors included “miner’s consumption” (silicosis), lung damage…
Eight-hour Day with No Cut in Pay
Labor unions and activists spent decades organizing workers all over the country to advocate for living wages,…
Riding a Bucket in a Blizzard
Imagine this scene: it is winter 1916 and a heavy storm is dumping snow and ice onto…
The Way We Were: 1917
We bid 2017 goodbye on Sunday night. What can we say but, “what a year”? As is…
The Erasure of a Community
The 1880s were a watershed decade for Chinese residents of the United States. The 1882 Chinese Exclusion…
The Tragedy of the Truscotts
“It seems almost a libel on our city government, on the fire department, and on the entire…
Working to Secure a Better Life
Howard Coleman came to Utah in search of a better life. As a black man and son…
See Truths! Learn Facts!
“Not a Hollywood fantasy!” This poster from 1949, eye-catching with bright reds, yellows, and blues and big,…
A Cornish Miner’s Tragedy
Samuel Simmons was born in Redruth, Cornwall, England in 1869. As you may have read in this…