Outline
I. Background
a. Brief History of Paragonah
b.
Introduction of Project
1. Current segment of project
2. Eventual goals
II. Intended Audience
a. Paragonah Residents
b. History Groups
c. Libraries
III. Planning
a. Initial Contact
b. Daughters of the Utah Pioneers
c. Initial Meetings
d. Later Committee Meetings
IV. Workload
a. Obtaining Equipment
b. People that were Interviewed
i. Lester Williamson
ii. Bud Robinson
iii. Homer Boardman
iv. Hilma Lamoreaux
v. Ken Topham
V. Future Plans
a. Compiling Info
b. Organizing the Video
c. Final Editing
d. Public Program
VI.
Conclusion
Paragonah, Utah has always been a small, close-knit town. It was first settled in 1852 as an outlying settlement from Parowan. Due to Indian troubles the settlers abandoned it several times during its first thirty years of existence, and the population has never risen above 500 residents. Despite its small size there is something unique about the town that at first glance might be overlooked. For some reason the town is bursting at the seams with a strong sense of community pride. People from all over the county recently attended the annual Veteran’s Day Program there, and the voter turnout in this year’s local election was over 70%, virtually unheard of in a non-presidential election year. Paragonah boasts a highly active civic committee that constantly supports programs and projects that enrich the life of this small town. For example a few years ago the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers compiled and published a detailed and comprehensive history of the small town. All of this comes from a population of less than four hundred. What is it that makes Paragonah such an active community? It is worth researching and we wanted to be a part of it.
This project first took root as a part of the Iron County and Parowan Heritage Oral History Program. This is a program dedicated to recording and preserving the oral history of the Iron County area. The initial idea was to interview a number of people who would present their oral history at a public program that would be video recorded and made available to the general public. A public program has already taken place in Parowan, but there were some problems with the sound in the recording. Hazel Jean Robinson of the Paragonah chapter of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers was overseeing the project in Paragonah and expressed a great deal of excitement about having university students assist in the research portion. We soon learned that their plans were more ambitious than we thought.
Their goal is to incorporate the interviews into a documentary type video chronicling the history of Paragonah throughout the years. The final product will be a two-hour video that incorporates interviews and stories, old photographs, eight-millimeter film reels, and original music from the old Paragonah band. The portion that they needed the most help with was the use of technical equipment such as cameras and editing machines, as well as help in carrying out the interviews. Proceeds from the sale of the video would cover the cost of equipment as well as professionally reproducing the video. After this first meeting it was apparent that there was a lot we could do to help get this project off the ground.
The intended audience is the residents of Paragonah itself, those that have interacted and become friends with the select few interviewed, and those that have been helped, touched, or involved in the activities that were mentioned in the interviews. We want everyone to be involved with the history that has taken place in this community.
Some of the local historical societies, such as Iron Mission, might be interested in something like this, because it is some really good material. It is the background and life of those who are from Paragonah, and is truly history at its best. People should be interested because it is not just a report or something off of a computer screen; it is video interviews that even the younger generations could be interested in. Institutions, schools, and local libraries should have the chance to obtain this information, so that history can be shared about the quiet little town of Paragonah. With the technology that we have very little information about Paragonah can be found through electronic library or Internet. We need to find out and know our background and ancestors. If every town or community did something like this we are positive that a great deal of support would be given. Those communities that have already done this are at an advantage, and should be acknowledged for the effort that has been given. Every little bit helps when history is brought to the present.
A great deal of planning has gone into making this project happen. The initial contact was Nancy Dalton who is a board member of the Parowan Heritage Foundation and is overseeing much of the oral history projects currently underway in Iron County. Incidentally, she also lives in Paragonah. She expressed a need for university students in Beryl, New Harmony, and Paragonah. We chose Paragonah because of its proximity and the ties that we already had to the town. She then referred us to Hazel Jean Robinson who was leading the oral history effort in Paragonah.
Hazel Jean was at first difficult to contact because she was out of town for a few weeks, but when we finally contacted her she was very excited to have our help. The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in Paragonah had been trying for several months to get going, but had had a number of setbacks. They had planned a program on the 24th of July, but it fell somewhat flat due to a funeral in town. They also didn’t have access to recording equipment, nor did they have the necessary experience to use it. Needless to say she was excited about having the help of the university and we set an initial meeting for October 3rd.
It was at this meeting that the real scope of the project was laid out. We realized that recording oral histories was only one part of a much larger project. At the meeting they organized several smaller groups responsible for the different aspects of the project. Committees were set up for obtaining reels of eight-millimeter film, slides, and old photos of people and buildings in the town. Our committee would be specifically responsible for first acquiring the use of a good video camera for recording interviews, and at a later date be responsible for obtaining the use of editing equipment and the expertise to use it.
The next question discussed at this first meeting was whom we could interview. A number of names were suggested to help us get started. Among these were Hilma Lamoreaux who knew about the town square and the old church building. Elmo “Bud” Robinson was known as a good storyteller and Lester Williamson had a personality that we just couldn’t leave out. His father was also in charge of the old water system in Paragonah and he is one of the oldest people born there. Homer Boardman, Ken Topham, and Wilma Lamereaux were all suggested and we have thought of several more since then. The list originally had these five, but as many as five or six more have been considered. It seems that once you get going it’s hard to tell where to stop.
Possible titles to the movie were also considered. We finally boiled it down to two suggestions, “Early Paragonah,” and “Paragonah Through the Years.” Most of the people in attendance favored the second both because it just sounded better and because it would allow the recognition of some of the newer people who have come to Paragonah. They wanted to include everyone, not just those elite few who had lived in the town for more than sixty years. No final decisions were made, but we thought it might be fun to have a contest to determine a name for the video.
We held one more planned meeting exclusively for the oral history committee. We discussed the best time frame for the interviews and we decided to start with Lester Williamson on the following Saturday. We also discussed possible interview questions. We wanted to cover life as a child in Paragonah, The Great Depression, and World War II as well as a few specific things from each person. We also planned to ask more general questions such as, “What has changed?” “What stories do you remember?” and “What do you like about Paragonah?” Rae Lynn Johnson, the head of our committee, was also concerned about the sound quality of the video and what type of camera was necessary. She also showed us a stack of stories given by people on their eightieth birthday celebration that could be helpful to our oral history research. Many of these people have since died so these stories will be a valuable addition to our project.
Listening to people that are eighty plus years old was a blast back to the past. There was The Great Depression, World War II, and the time when making two dollars a day for ten to twelve hours was very good pay. Actually it was more of a wake up call. People worked so much only to go home and do chores, or finish up their adobe brick homes. Do we take things for granted because of the technology we have at our fingertips?
Making appointments for interviews was a lot easier than finding a camera that everyone would be happy with. The main concern was that we wanted the people being interviewed to be heard and not be muffled or distant. We were looking for a camera with an external microphone that the person being interviewed could use and because of past recordings, this was a major concern. Rae Lynn Johnson and the Daughters of Utah Pioneers mentioned Dr. John Smith, the head of the communications department at Southern Utah University. We made contact with him, and he told us we could rent a camera from the school for twenty-five dollars a day, and that future editing could be arranged if we wanted to have the school do it. Mr. Smith then instructed us to call Mr. Lee Byers who keeps track of all the equipment. Mr. Byers has worked with us and has let us use the cameras several times, even on short notice. We are very appreciative of their help in this project.
Following is a brief synopsis of the interviews we conducted. Lester Williamson was very open and friendly, he loved to talk about his life experiences, and he had some very good stories. He was a little afraid of the camera at first, but then warmed up to it. He told a story of when the first car arrived in Paragonah, it sure was a sight to see. All the children in town ran to see it, and at first they were a little scared to get close to it. His mother had told him that if he got too close it would start up on its own and run him over, so he kept his distance.
Bud Robinson was very comfortable with the camera, and very outspoken. He shared some of the most hilarious stories we’ve ever heard. He told a story about some boy scouts that went to Horse Valley to go fishing. After arriving there they made fishing poles out of sticks and string. They were pulling fish out of a stream constantly and they pulled some of them out so fast it flung them into the trees above. One such fish landed inside of the shirt of another scout and he had trouble getting it out as it flopped around. Another story is that of Lyle Robb, a local pilot and hero. He once drove his small single engine airplane down Paragonah’s Main Street under all the power lines and street lamp lines. Then just for kicks he put his tail wheel tire on the centerline in the road. Lyle Robb’s uncle was an older gentleman in Paragonah, and having never seen a plane before, dove behind a fence and started digging like a dog to get away. Lyle Robb was an excellent pilot that went off to World War II to fly a P-38 Lightening. He became a local hero when he was killed after his plane was shot down.
Homer Boardman was a funny guy that has an adobe house that is more than one hundred years old. He was a mechanic during World War II, and was transferred many times during the war. He talked about the old icehouse which was a small building made of wood with gaps between the walls that they filled with saw dust. Some of the men of Paragonah would go to the pond north of town during the winter and cut out blocks of ice. They would bring them into town wrap them in burlap sacks, then stack them as high as the building would permit before closing it for the winter. That way they would have ice for the summer and be able to make ice cream. They would also sell it to the local people and those that traveled through.
Hilma Lamoreaux really didn’t want to talk much about herself or what happened during her childhood. She told us some very good facts about the old church house that has been torn down, and the new one built in its place. She told a story of a Christmas Pageant that took place in the old school house. They made the costumes out of paper and used cotton balls as fur. Someone lit a match and some of the kids caught on fire. One of the girls was badly burned and was in bed for several months. It sure was a Christmas pageant to remember.
Ken Topham was very quiet and shy towards the camera; he tried to avoid it a lot. His home was so old that we could not find an electrical plug in it with a ground wire for our camera. He rummaged around in his drawers for ten minutes looking for a connector for the wall plugs before he finally found one. He had great insight about The Great Depression and was part of the Civil Conservation Corps. He worked around Navajo Lake making a dam, widening roads, making campsites. He also cleared a lot of land such as the right of way, which is fifty feet on each side of the roadway.
We calculated that we spent six hours of travel time, one hour of phone conversations, about six hours of interview time, and three to four hours in meetings and planning. We intend on doing more interviews, but time would not permit. There is an estimated four other interviews that will be done before it is complete. One of the harder parts of the project was that the people that we interviewed and associated were not familiar with the technology that we have today, so it was hard to convince them that shooting videos was the way to go. We think that they will appreciate after it is all completed, and when they can see the end result.
The original scope of this project was limited to the collection of oral histories. Since that time it has expanded to include researching a number of historical references as well as organizing them into a polished product. We have accomplished a lot, especially in the planning stages, but there is much left to do and the end of the semester won’t stop the work we’re doing. In fact, we have three interviews scheduled for Saturday, December 1st and we will do two or three more before Christmas. We will be working on this project for several more months and plan on extending the service learning into next semester.
Much of the work this semester has been in the planning and gathering information stages, but in the next six months the workload will shift to the next phase. This will include reviewing and transcribing the interviews gathered this semester and organizing them with a number of written stories recorded by people in Paragonah. These will then be compared to the photographs, slides, eight-millimeter film, and other historical artifacts currently being compiled. Once they have been organized we can move on to putting together a documentary video.
A lot goes into creating a documentary. Once the material is gathered it must be organized in a way that makes sense and accurately portrays what Paragonah was like. A script would take a great deal of collaboration on the parts of all involved, so again planning becomes a big concern. The biggest help that the university could offer in this area is expertise, thus it would be beneficial to find a film student or faculty member who would like to be of assistance to the project. Their help would be crucial to the development of a video. The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers would probably write the script, with different people contributing different portions.
With the information gathered and a script written, all that remains is to edit the final copy. Again, the assistance of the university will be essential in this final phase. We have already obtained permission to use the editing room in the communications department for a small fee. This fee could be avoided if we could find a film student who needed a project like this one to fulfill a requirement for their class. This would be an ideal situation because they could also offer their experience to complete a high quality product. Even if this didn’t work we would need a lot of help from the communications department and a faculty advisor will be a great help in producing a quality video.
When the film is complete there would be a town “unveiling” at the cultural hall in Paragonah. Not only will the video be shown, but it also could be a “Paragonah History” program with stories told by a number of long time residents, probably some of the same people we have already interviewed. Displays could be set up with photographs and other historical artifacts, and copies of the video would be sold at that time to cover the costs of producing a good quality product. An initial goal has been set by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers to schedule this program some time in April and it will take an organized effort to make it a reality.
What we learned or gained from doing this project is that there is so much history just lingering around us, and all you have to do is just reach out and grab it. It was interesting to learn about history from a primary source, especially when it is so close to home. One of us is from Paragonah; so this was a history about people he has known for his entire life, and it was a benefit to learn of his native town. We also learned that this project turned out to be a little bigger than expected, and so it will be completed next semester. It was definitely time consuming, and took proper planning and management to get things done.
We hope that it will benefit the Paragonah community and possibly make it an even better place to live. We also hope to continue to help the Daughters of Utah Pioneers. They have wanted to do something like this for a long time. We guess they were just waiting for us to come along, show some initiative, and bring it all together. We hope that as a public service the libraries and other public places will help and enjoy the fun of the history that lays in store for them. We hope that those who see the video or read the related material will enjoy it and learn something about the history of this small town. This was certainly one of the better learning experiences that we have had. We also would like to thank those that helped out in any kind of way, and we appreciate their help.