Utah Stories from the Beehive Archive

Utah sent thousands of infantrymen into World War I where they faced unimaginable conditions on the battlefield. But when the war ended, the battle continued at home, where returning soldiers faced a changing economy, uncertain job prospects, and a fight for benefits. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the...

Meet Barney Flanagan and learn how it fell to him to keep corruption out of government-funded work-relief jobs in Utah during the early years of the Great Depression. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collection at utahhumanities.org/...

Imagine you are a fighter pilot needing to escape your plane when something goes wrong. Your life depends on the work of scientists who – more than sixty years ago – filled the Utah desert air with sonic booms and flying monkeys. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast c...

As Americans, we extol the value of an “honest living,” but what about work that is less than honest? Butch Cassidy was a Utah boy with a penchant for wild living who paid his way using any means necessary. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the...

Do you love your work? Georgie White did. Her free spirit and appetite for Western landscapes and ferocious rivers led to a long, passionate career. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collection at utahhumanities.org/stories. 

Main streets throughout postwar Utah depended on conspicuous signage to entice passersby to stop and shop. Learn how one Utah company used eye-catching neon to meet that demand. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collection at utahhuma...

Have you ever noticed groves of mulberry trees in your neighborhood? These trees aren’t native to Utah, but were planted to support a pioneer silk industry led by Mormon women and girls. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collection at...

Learn how the 1924 construction of a little bridge in the middle of nowhere put southern Utah’s people to work and opened the region’s scenic wonders to the world. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collection at utahhumanities.org/sto...

From ancient times to today, the harvest and preparation of food has been tough work, especially in the arid deserts of the Great Basin. Learn how Paiute families did that work together in order to feed and foster their communities. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcas...

Have you ever seen a wildfire exploding up a mountain or heard one roaring through a forest? For Northern Ute Indian Firefighters, that was just another day at work. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collection at utahhumanities.org/s...

Did you know that before Prohibition, Utah was home to fifteen breweries? Some were among the biggest and best in the West. Learn about Utah’s early beer brewers and their specialized craft. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collectio...

The reality of an eight-hour workday remains elusive for many Utah workers, but it is still considered the national standard, and one we take for granted. Learn how Utah became the first state to adopt the eight-hour workday. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast chann...

Utah’s romance with the movie industry began in the 1920s silent film era and hasn’t diminished since. Nearly a thousand motion pictures and television series have filmed in Utah, bringing millions each year to the state. Learn how Hollywood first put Utah to work. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the sh...

Long work hours and blurry lines between personal and professional lives is hardly a modern dilemma. But imagine if your employer controlled not just your hours and your paycheck, but where you spent your off hours and how you spent your money. Employees of the P.W. Madsen Furniture Store knew just how that felt. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and pec...

Mary Nakaishi and her husband Uke devoted their life’s work to helping Ogden’s poor get back on their feet and earned the reputation of Ogden’s “Angels of 25th Street". Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collection at utahhumaniti...

Learn how Ogden's families and business-owners used the prohibition against alcohol to invent new styles of work -- and how law enforcement worked to stop them. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collection at utahhumanities.org/s...

Confections are a multibillion-dollar industry in the United States and Utahns currently buy candy at the highest rate in the nation -- almost double the US average. It's been that way for at least a century. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check...

Starting in the 1840s, government explorers began to survey and map the Intermountain West more thoroughly. Meet Leonard Swett, a wealthy young man from Chicago who came West with the U.S. Geological Survey. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out th...

It might be easy to think that the production of folk art isn't really "work." But whether or not folk artists make a living through their creativity, their labors require hard-earned mastery of skills. Learn about two Utah women whose art was their work. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch t...

You call, you text, you surf the net. You spend countless hours on your phone. Learn how the telephone transformed Utah's remote Uinta Basin. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collection at utahhumanities.org/stories.

The depth, the dark, and the dangers inherent in coal mining created a uniquely hazardous work environment for miners in Utah at the turn of the twentieth century. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collection at utahhumanities.org/sto...

Learn how one family went literally from "bags to riches" and how a son honored his mother's legacy by naming after her one of Salt Lake's most noted buildings. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collection at utahh...

Much has been made of the early Mormons' communal work ethic and the effective redistribution of resources within their communities. But how did they actually organize these efforts? Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collection a...

Hill Air Force Base is Utah's sixth largest employer and military spending creates over $9 billion in economic activity for the State. Learn about the historic roots of Utah's "Military Industrial Complex." Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast chan...

Learn about Utah's nineteenth century midwives, who were unusual in that they were actually paid for their work as medical providers. Tune in to the Beehive Archive, a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal—and peculiar—events in Utah's history. Catch the show weekly on your favorite podcast channel or check out the whole collection at utahhumanities.org/stories.