Yee-haw! Recent collection harvest roundup!

We are thrilled to welcome yet more collections to MWDL! This week saw the addition of another three collections from Boise State University-Alberstons Library, one from Orem (UT) Public Library, and five from Utah State University-Merrill-Cazier Library. Read on to learn more about these collections! They are a very diverse group, ranging from political papers to pioneer history to legends of haunted retreats. 

Boise State University

Claudio Beagarie Photographs of California Farm Workers
From 1965 to 1967, photographer Claudio Beagarie documented through photos the farm workers’ struggle for economic justice and civil rights in California. A union activist with a commitment to progressive causes, Beagarie captured images of farm workers in their homes, in the fields, and marching with Cesar Chavez, cofounder of the United Farm Workers of America and the best-known leader of the movement.

Frank and Bethine Church Collection
The entire photograph collection of Frank and Bethine Church, spanning their young adult years in Boise, Idaho, 1940-1943, the early political career of Frank as Idaho Legislature, 1952-1956, and U.S. Senator, 1958-1980, and Bethine’s involvement in social and environmental issue in the 1990s to 2010. The majority of the photographs document the many campaigns, political events in Washington D.C. and around the world, and daily work as a U.S. Senator. Church’s involvment in foreign relations is well documented in photographs, as well as his work with other various Senate committees. The collection contains both video and audio clips, documents and photographs.

Pete Cenarrusa Collection
Photos, clippings, articles and some emphemera from the life and carreer of Pete T. Cenarrusa, Idaho’s longest serving public official. The son of Basque Country immigrants, Cennarusa was an Idaho native who devoted his life to promoting and preserving Basque culture. Cennarusa passed away in 2013.

Orem (UT) Public Library

Orem (UT) School Yearbooks


This digital collection focuses on the scrapbooks and yearbooks from the elementary, junior high and high schools, past and present, of Orem, Utah.  Several of the schools-Spencer School, Lincoln High School, and Lincoln Junior High School-no longer exist.

The schools included in this collection, and the years of operation, are:
  • Spencer School, 1883-1989
  • Lincoln High School, 1912-1921
  • Lincoln Junior High School, 1921-1975
  • Orem High School, 1956-
  • Mountain View High School, 1980-
  • Timpanogos High School, 1996-
  • Orem Junior High School, 1963-2010
  • Lakeridge Junior High School, 1975-
  • Canyon View Junior High School, 1985-1989

The most recent yearbooks are subject to a five to seven year delay from the original publication date. Missing yearbooks from these schools as well as materials from additional schools may be added in the future as they become available.
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (USL16-004).

Utah State University 

American Folklore Society Papers
The American Folklore Society (AFS) is a scholarly association that exists to further the discipline of folklore studies. The society was founded in Boston in 1888 by such luminaries as Francis James Child, William Wells Newell, Daniel Garrison Brinton, and Franz Boas, with its principal emphasis directed toward the publication of a scientific journal and the convening of an annual meeting.

The society’s papers and records are archived at Utah State University’s Special Collections & Archives (USU SCA). As records become inactive, AFS will transfer them to USU SCA. These materials are then indexed and made available for research. Included in the collection are correspondence, memorandums, financial records, membership records, meeting agendas, conferences, notes, questionnaires, surveys, election records, by-laws, applications, grants, committee records, and affiliate records. With the increased use of electronic communication at the turn of the 21st century, many of these records have transitioned from paper-based to born-digital. USU SCA continues to host the paper materials in onsite archival storage while this digital collection serves as the access point for born-digital materials.

Brigham Young College
This digital collection covers the history of Brigham Young College from its beginnings in 1877 to its final memorial service in 1926 and contains many of the college’s publications, such as the student-edited Crimson and Crimson Annual, and the official College Bulletins and Catalogues. While many of the BYC materials held in USU’s Special Collections and Archives are represented in the digital collection, the finding aids for the Brigham Young College Records Collection (1877-1926) and the Brigham Young College Photograph & Memorabilia Collection (1860-1963) contain a full inventory of items. Following its final commencement and the divestment of much of its assets, the campus itself became the home of the Logan Senior High School, where it continues to operate today.

Cache Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum Collection

The Cache Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum honors the pioneers who came to Utah and settled Cache Valley before 1869. It is the Museum’s mission to honor that legacy by sharing the artifacts, histories and photos of those pioneers. The Museum operates under the direction of the International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
The portraits in this digital collection represent pioneers from around the world who came to Utah. The portraits depict early settlers of Cache Valley, Utah, prominent business leaders in Cache County, and early leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They also depict community organizations in Cache Valley, including local bands, fire departments, the Cache Stake/Logan Tabernacle Choir, and Logan Temple workers.

Logan Public Library – Logan (UT) Digital Collection
Logan Public Library has spent considerable amount of time collecting images related to the architectural landscape of the city over time. We are proud to offer a collection of some of these photographs combined with other materials related to the history of Logan, Utah. 

This digital collection begun with a grant from the Digital Public Library of America’s Public Library Partnership Project and the Mountain West Library Digital Services grants.


Palmer DeLong

Palmer DeLong was born on March 16, 1918 in Ogden, Utah. In 1941 he graduated from Utah State Agricultural College with a degree in Civil Engineering and joined the United States Bureau of Reclamation, where he directed water management projects and operations for 38 years. Among his most significant contributions was his service as the project manager of the Central Utah Project, a massive effort to provide water for agricultural, municipal, and industrial use through the construction of an extensive network of aqueducts, dams, and reservoirs. DeLong passed away in October 2010 in Orem, Utah. 
This digital collection contains reports, speeches, photographs, and correspondence related to DeLong’s work on the Central Utah Project, which were scanned from original documents retained by the donor. A complete inventory of these digitized items, as well as additional physical materials housed in Special Collections and Archives, can be viewed here: http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv98550

St. Anne’s Retreat

Legendary St. Anne’s Retreat in Logan Canyon has been the source of a contemporary oral tradition and legend-tripping for the last fifty years.  Local legends tell of a haunted place with stories laced in ancient themes telling of nuns and priests secretly engaging in sexual encounters, nuns getting pregnant by priests, giving birth and drowning their babies in the legendary pool.
Explore this collection to research the meaning behind these legends, the circumstances around this event and how religious folklore and other cultural constructs play important roles in the maintenance of a vivid local legend cluster. 
St. Ann’s OR St. Anne’s: What’s in a Name? According to the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, the Retreat is officially spelled St. Ann’s Retreat (Ann without an “e”). Local traditions, including most collected legend versions held in the Fife Folklore Archives, articles from the local newspaper, and some scholarly articles, use the spelling of St. Anne’s (with the “e”). While not the official spelling, this collection reflects the folklore surrounding this location. Therefore, we have chosen to represent the folk spelling in this collection.

Thanks to all the hard work at each of these institutions for making these collections available! 

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