USU Libraries Launches 'Intermountain Song Trails' to Preserve Generational Music Memories

LOGAN — Utah State University Libraries has launched Intermountain Song Trails, a new oral history and folklore project that invites community members to share songs remembered from childhood, family life and migration experiences across the Intermountain West.

Led by Joe Kinzer, community & oral history archivist and folklore curator in the Fife Folklore Archives, the project seeks to preserve memory-based songs that span generations — such as lullabies, work songs, cowboy ballads and church or scouting traditions.

“Songs are powerful memory anchors,” Kinzer says. “A simple verse or melody can bring back a whole world of family stories, cultural knowledge, or memories of place. We want to document those connections before they disappear.”

Who Can Participate

Intermountain Song Trails is looking for people who remember:

• Songs from childhood or older family members.
• Ballads, work songs or cowboy songs.
• Songs tied to migration or historical travel routes.
• Church, scouting or community singing traditions.
• Anything remembered as part of the “song trails” passed through generations.

Participants are welcome to sing, hum or simply describe their memories — no performance required.

Why It Matters

According to Kinzer, preserving these musical memories highlights the shared heritage of the Intermountain West.

“Songs are part of how people make sense of movement, work, hardship, faith and family,” he says. “Every memory we gather adds another thread to the larger story of this region.”

Oral histories collected through this project will be preserved in the Fife Folklore Archives at Utah State University Libraries, making them available to future generations of researchers, family members and community historians.

Funding for Intermountain Song Trails is provided by the Utah Humanities Council and the Utah Historical Society.

How to Get Involved

Community members interested in participating can contact:

Joe Kinzer, Community & Oral History Archivist, Fife Folklore Archives 
Email: joe.kinzer@usu.edu  
Phone: (435) 797-2683

Interviews can be scheduled in person or remotely.