Utah in the 1950s is the focus of the Utah State Historical Society annual meeting Sept. 14-16.
Presentations, photographs, art, design, music, films, and tours will highlight both the 1850s and the 1950s.
On Thursday, Sept. 14, 7-8:30 p.m., at the Salt Lake City Library, scholar David Bigler will talk about the genesis of the Utah War, when President Buchanan sent federal troops to Utah Territory to quell a perceived rebellion by the Mormons. USHS will also honor the winners of its annual awards.
A full day of history presentations at the library on Friday, Sept. 15, will include many more Utah War topics and a showing of KUED's Utah in the 1950s films, with comments by the producers and host.
The day will include other topics, such as Wallace Stegner's Salt Lake City, cult leader Marie Ogden and the mummy she tried to resurrect, the Equal Rights Amendment, homesteading, and more.
"The Nifty Fifties" celebration will take place Friday, 6-9:30 p.m., at the Rio Grande Depot, 300 Rio Grande St. The Utah Arts Council will display the art and design of the 1950s, 1950s music will fill the air, and old Eugene Jelesnik talent shows will be playing.
That evening, BYU professor Susan Sessions Rugh will present an illustrated lecture about tourism in Utah in the 1950s, where tourists stayed and ate, what they saw, and what they wrote home about Utah's peculiar culture. Rugh will present a visual tour of Utah sights from A to Z: Arches to Zions, Bingham Copper Mine to Bear Lake, Temple Square to Timpanogos, as seen through the eyes of visitors to Utah in the 1950s.
The Oregon-California Trails Association will give tours of Utah War sites on Saturday, Sept. 16, and the Utah Heritage Foundation will hold its annual homes tour.
All events and sessions are free, except the Trails Association tours ($43 per person).
For information go to: history.utah.gov.