USU Library Launches New Mendon Digital Exhibit

Do you know how your grandparents met or what ghost stories are native to your town? Utah State University’s Merrill-Cazier Library aimed to capture these stories of Mendon, Utah in a new digital exhibit that features images, audio and videos of past and present Mendonites. 

Mendon residents submitted over 100 items for “I Remember When: Memories and Moments in Mendon, Utah.” The exhibit has stories of the Northwest Band of Shoshone, the threshing bee, traditions from May Day, the Mendon Jazz Band and more. Though it’s not necessarily chronological, the exhibit takes you through a journey into Mendon’s past and present.

Bethany Budge, a recent USU history, folklore and anthropology graduate, analyzed and curated the exhibit based on the items donated. She was aided in her curatorial efforts by Shelley Jones, recent graduate of USU’s master’s Folklore Program and the USU Libraries’ Digital Initiatives Team. 

“It was pretty interesting to hear a these stories,” Budge said. “I went through everything that was donated and let the community show me what needed to go into the exhibit. It was really fun to put together.”

Though Budge worked countless hours to catalog and create the exhibit, she ensures that the exhibit is not her story.

“This exhibit tells the community’s story,” Budge said. “There were a lot of things that I didn’t see as important in the beginning, but they kept getting brought up over and over. So, they clearly were important and I just didn’t know because I am an outsider.”

Budge held the 2018-2019 Paul Willie Fife Folklore Archives Curatorial Assistantship, a position funded by local historian and Mendonite Paul Willie in partnership with USU’s Special Collections & Archives.

“I am very grateful for Mr. Paul Willie,” Budge said. “He gave me this opportunity to put everything I’ve learned in my coursework at USU into practice.”

Budge was mentored in this endeavor by Randy Williams, Fife Folklore Archives curator and affiliated folklore program faculty. Williams is proud of Budge’s work. 

“Having the opportunity to host a student in the archives took the folklore program and archives a step further,” Williams said. “It allows us to mentor and refine classroom theory with hands-on practice while partnering with a local community. And we now have a beautiful exhibit to show for all our efforts.”

While this exhibit has extensive coverage of Mendon’s history, the work isn’t finished. Incoming USU folklore graduate student Meagan Oltman will carry on Budge’s work to create a full digital collection from the gathered materials.