Heritage Associates LLC

Recent Publications from Heritage Associates

2012-01-17T01:03:00.006-07:00

Grass Creek Canyon Coal

"Many old settlements have vanished as if by the wave of a magician's wand, leaving only memories to prove they once existed."

The pride and history of Summit County is alive and well. This book was written to preserve its rich and diverse history.

Tales of Luke's Hot Pots
&
The Mountain Spaa Resort

The history of Luke's dates all the way back to days when an Indian called "Red Cap" used the hot springs to cook his meat and sooth his muscles in the 1850's . . .

"Legend has it that a gang of outlaws stopped to take a swim in the old hot pot. They were interrupted by a band of hostile Indians. The outlaws quickly put their gold in an old, iron kettle and buried it. The gold remains hidden to this day."

A Legend in Mink
Mink Ranching in Summit County, Utah

"Utah is one of the largest fur producing states in the nation, second only to Wisconsin, the reason being the cold Utah winters, which are ideal for mink to grow their coveted winter fur. Most of the fur farms in Summit County are family businesses, often operated by two or three generations of the same family. This is the account of an old-fashioned, American success story."

Bonner's Corners

After 130 years, three houses stand as some of the most striking ever built in Utah. Generations of the Bonner family, as well as thousands of visitors to Midway, Utah have enjoyed the story and sheer beauty of these examples of Gothic Revival style.

"After John Watkins built his own picturesque, red-brick home, with white gingerbread trim in 1869, the Bonner brothers asked him to build a similar home for their parents in 1876. Knowing that they would soon be married themselves, they contracted with Watkins to build them two smaller versions of the house directly across Main Street on two facing corner lots. They were completed and furnished just in time for the Bonner brother's double wedding in 1878."

Heritage Associates will help you
discover, preserve and utilize your heritage.

Midway

2011-12-14T03:30:00.000-07:00

Provo Canyon

In April 1859, John Wesley Witt traveled with his wife, Lavina, and their five children, up the new Provo Canyon Road to settle what became the Heber Valley. While traveling along the steep road in a driving snowstorm, the Witt’s wagon with all its contents suddenly tipped over into the swirling waters of the Provo River below.

Working quickly, Uncle Dan and others helped lift the heavy wagon box off the family and miraculously snatched up the 13-day-old baby daughter, Nancy, as she began floating down stream. They salvaged what they could: the bake oven, one sack of flour and one chest of clothes. But most of their belongings were lost.

The Witt family arrived in the new settlement on April 29, 1859. The weather was cold, snowy and the conditions were miserable as they made their first home out of the wagon box placed in a rude dugout.

John and the other men soon put in a crop of wheat and barley grain with the hope that it would be ready for harvesting before winter. The Witt and nineteen other families celebrated a meager, but happy first Christmas of 1859 in the Heber Valley.

Dee Halverson has finished the text for his second book on Midway, entitled My Love Affair With Midway. This will be out sometime next spring, filled with unpublished photographs, maps, and untold stories that will make anyone familiar with Midway, UT fall in love with her all over again.

Contact Dee Halverson: wdh@heritageassociates.com for information.

History in Summit County, Utah

2011-10-27T00:01:00.000-06:00

Cemetery near Wanship, Utah

Lawsuits are often decided based on history. Heritage Associates was commissioned to find evidence of a long-lost road in Summit County, Utah when a land owner discovered her vast and valuable land inheritance was landlocked. Her neighbors said the old trail was not a public thoroughfare, but part of their land. For her to develop or sell her property, she needed access; otherwise it was worthless.

Dee Halverson spent a year looking for evidence that it was a common use road from the days when Indians, trappers, explorers, miners, and farmers hauled supplies over the mountain to Park City.

Using old geological maps that listed areas by property owners, he tracked down some of their descendants for memories. An 80-year-old grandson remembered ice skating to school and recalled a girl who worked at a bar on the old road in her teens. She was alive in a nursing home in Seattle, with a keen memory of those by-gone days. One story led to another, and soon Dee had directions for short cuts through the canyons, used for over two hundred years.

Because the giant acreage was inaccessible to cars, Dee explored it on a mountain bike to see if the trails hooked up at the top of the canyons. With a little digging, he found evidence of a community.A white column marker was surrounded by several family graves and a little fence. There were some children ages 2, 4, and 6 who had died within days of each other, the father dead within a few weeks. The mom held things together for several years, but still died at age 45. What stories lie within that little cemetery!

Old foundations nearby indicated houses and barns, disintegrating steps led to what looked like a small school. The places matched up with stories from those still living, and a few memories recorded by those already gone. Dee proved the existence of a common use road, and the client got official permission to access her land.

Heritage Associates is a public history company with experience in litigation research. Contact us for access to historic evidence that will prove your case.

Heritage Associates: Who Are Our Experts?

2011-10-22T19:17:00.000-06:00

Skilled in settings from archives to courthouses, our talented team of professionals offer your organization a turnkey solution for using your unique heritage.

W. Dee Halverson earned degrees in history at Brigham Young University and York University in England. Since founding Heritage Associates, he has provided professional research and published works for nearly 200 clients worldwide. He is also a specialist in oral interviews, historical site evaluation, archive development and organization, litigation research, and genealogy. Trained in photography, and geography, his skills are well-used for research on location. Dee is fluent in German, a reading knowledge of French, is proficient in translating Old English and German scripts, and deciphering old handwritten texts. He is adept at handling the oldest papers, and using the newest technology.

Marty Halverson attended BYU and studied in Salzburg, Austria and York, England. She is the co-founder of Heritage Associates and has collaborated with her husband Dee on several projects as a research historian, editor and writer. Marty has written thirteen children's history books, two family histories and has recently published her first novel, a book of historical fiction entitled Son of a Gun. Her on site photography is used in Heritage Associates publications, and she is the author of the company's blog .

James E. Robinson, CPA, has been a successful executive of a network of home health care businesses throughout the Intermountain West. He specializes in corporate marketing and development for Heritage Associates.

A. Peter Halverson has applied the latest in website architecture, searchable databases and digital printing techniques to our history-based projects. He supervises quality control and insures that your product is of the highest standard.

Marta Dansie has developed state-of-the art graphics and text layout techniques in book design and publication, as well as digital scanning and restoration of images for historic use. She is a talented photographer, designer and graphic artist.

Heidi Ballou provides digital transcription service for the firm’s heavy volume of oral- and video-history interviews.

Amy Robinson specializes in book design, layout, image research and art history, and has expertise in graphic arts. Her access to the best photographic equipment, and knowledge of digital imagery has been featured in numerous Heritage Associates books.

Heritage Associates has expertise in:
Museum and exhibit research and text.
Seminars and lectures.
Corporate events to celebrate anniversaries and other milestones.
Archival development.
International research.
Historical evaluation.
Interpretation of artifacts.
Evaluation of historical collections.

Heritage Associates: Historian on Location

2011-10-21T15:19:00.000-06:00

Dee in Lancaster, MA town Library

Heritage Associates specializes in research on location. (Click here for listing.) Primary sources found in local libraries and archives give valuable information not found anywhere else. Collections carefully preserved, now relegated to dusty basements, hold vast and sometimes unread details relevant to families, businesses and other organizations.

Marty in Trezesniow, Poland Library

Links to posts detailing some of the places where Heritage Associates has gathered history follow:

Newfoundland :Searching for Ghosts
Polish Roots
Trezesniow, Poland
Krakow, Poland and Beyond
Czech Republic : Check it Out
Austria: Family Ties
British Isles: Attics and Basements
Brandywine, Pennsylvania
Ogden, Utah: Miles Goodyear Cabin
Summit County, Utah: A Life Forgotten

Midway, Utah

2011-10-04T21:42:00.009-06:00

The House that Jack Built

Sometimes referred to as the Mushroom House, this picturesque home in Midway, Utah has a story worthy of another name: The House that Jack Built. Dee Halverson recounts the history behind it's unique curved shingles, hidden turret and carriage house, and why a United States president was a frequent guest, in a new book to be released in January, 2012.

Midway: Portrait of a People is a sequel to Midway: Portrait of a Town, and includes stories and photographs of each of the canyons surrounding the beautiful valley made famous by the 2002 Winter Olympics. Find out how a natural hot pot, owned by Swiss immigrants, became part of the world-class Zermatt Resort and Spa. Unique photographs show views of the valley seen only by horseback and described by local old-timers who know the trails and tales by heart. A must-read for hikers, bikers, photographers and history buffs who love the Wasatch mountains.

For more details on Midway: Portrait of a People, contact:

wdh@heritageassociates.com

Dee and Marty Halverson

2011-09-18T22:45:00.002-06:00

Marty and Dee Halverson

W. Dee Halverson earned degrees in history at Brigham Young University and York University in England. Since founding Heritage Associates, he has provided professional research and published works for nearly 200 clients worldwide. He is also a specialist in oral interviews, historical site evaluation, archive development and organization, litigation research, and genealogy. Dee is fluent in German and has a reading knowledge of French. Proficient in translating Old English and German scripts, and deciphering old handwritten texts, he is adept at handling the oldest papers, and using the newest technology.

Dee was born in Provo, Utah. He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany from 1965-1968. In 1969 he met Marty Bagley while on a BYU semester abroad in Salzburg, Austria, and they were married later that year. They have seven children and twenty grandchildren, and currently live in South Jordan, Utah.

Marty Ann Halverson is freelance editor and writer. Her passion for history, writing and family has resulted in thirteen children's books and two privately published family histories. She has co-authored four biographies with Dee and is his research assistant. Marty recently published her first historical novel, entitled Son of a Gun.

Heritage Associates: Ghosthunters

2011-08-05T08:59:00.003-06:00

Some of Dee Halverson's best friends are ghosts.
Heritage Associates specializes in bringing them back to life.

One particular ghost died in 1780, and Dee was hired to tell his story, to flesh him out, so to speak. He started with the name of a cemetery in Newfoundland. Driving with his wife Marty along the rocky coast north of St. John's bordering the Atlantic Ocean, they passed tiny fishing villages: Old Pelican, Cupid's Bay, and Come by Chance. Heart's Content was minuscule, but they finally saw the church spires and knew a cemetery would be close by.

Slippery rocks covered ground that was wet and spongy underfoot, with thistles and wild flowers everywhere. The tiny grave yard was perched on a steep slope plunging into the bay and there didn't seem to be an entrance.

Marty Halverson, Heart's Content, Newfoundland,

Since the guardrail was too high to climb over, they went under! Dee hiked around until he found the surname he was looking for, and on the headstone was all the information he needed: name, birth date, birthplace, parents, marriage date, wife and children.

Ghostbusting with Dee Halverson

At the small local library Dee requested histories written by local historians. The librarian went down to a dusty vault and brought up an applicable volume, handwritten in old-fashioned script.

News surrounding a ghost's life, pieced together with general history of the larger community, brought the ghost to life. The name of the ghost's shop, the location of his farm—he almost stepped through the wall and shook Dee's hand!

Dee Halverson gathering history.

People can be so insensitive to ghosts—it's spooky. If you know of any that need to be found, contact Heritage Associates. Dee is haunted by the ones that are lost!

Heritage Associates Open House

2011-06-05T15:58:00.001-06:00

Heritage Associates is located in Salt Lake City

W. Dee Halverson of Heritage Associates recommends that his clients use their history. Taking his own advice, Dee celebrated the 25th anniversary of his public history company with an open house.

Dee and Marty, ready to party.

It was an event for the history books! Displays of his work were arranged on tables and bookshelves. The associates themselves were amazed at the variety of stories they've told!

Second floor of the historic Judge Building

Historic photos of places—Las Vegas, Nevada to Bzianka, Poland—companies, such as Bonneville Corporation, Yesco, and Ireland Bank, and other clients (Stephen Bechtel, Fraser Bullock, Lou Callister and Rod Brady to name a few) decorated the walls. Original architectural plans for the LDS Conference Center, Trolley Square and the Armstrong Mansion were also on display.

(Help yourself to refreshments!)

Dee's inspiration board

Because Dee does on-site work (archive management, organization and oral interviews) or original research, many of his long-time clients have never seen his office. It was fun to guide them through his collection of artifacts and point out pieces on his bulletin boards.

Old friends

In twenty-five years, Heritage Associates has produced over fifty major books and twenty booklets, plus museum displays, plaques and other historical accounts. The open house was a giant show and tell.

British LDS Historical Sites, Preston England

The real fun, however, was celebrating with friends who knew Dee back in the day.

Before he was an historical artifact himself!

Want to celebrate your life's history?

Contact W. Dee Halverson

wdh@heritageassociates.com

Open house photos by Marta

Dee's photo by Christie

Celebrating 25 Years!

2011-04-04T22:16:00.016-06:00

Booklet designed by Amy Robinson

Heritage Associates is in the memory business, and this year we're celebrating our own! With roots in York, England, our company opened its doors in Utah in 1986.

Heritage Associates Office

Located in Salt Lake City just three blocks from the world famous LDS Family History Library, Heritage Associates also affiliates with Ancestry.com for genealogy expertise. Clients range from individuals to international corporations, with a unique final product to meet specific requirements.

Collectibles

W. Dee Halverson has twenty five years experience in writing corporate and public histories. Research on location for family history is a specialty, as is legal research for imperative historic details.

Dee and his associates

History books sometimes seem too dull to grab regular people by the lapel. What differentiates Halverson is his conviction that history is personal. Dates and places in history books are important only when personalities jump out of the pages and make themselves memorable.

Books by W. Dee Halverson

For twenty five years, Dee has been telling good stories!
Celebrate with us.
Tell your story!

Just Released!

2011-01-28T14:26:00.021-07:00

Dream Big: The Dan Huish Story

Heritage Associates' newest biography is the story of a small-town boy with a big dream that came true.

Dee Halverson conducted fifty-five oral interviews, including an interview with the founder of Costco, Jim Sinegal, to piece together the history of Huish Chemical. In-depth corporate research covered facilities in Bowling Green, KY; Dyersburg, TN; Houston, TX; Salt Lake City, Utah. Dee accurately portrays the explosive growth of a company that started with five employees, shipping fifty boxes of product a month, to 3,000 employees shipping six million boxes of product a month.

Even more important, those closest to Dan shared personal memories of what he's like as a son, brother, husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, friend and employer. Privately published, this book is illustrated with photographs, articles and memorabilia and will be a treasure for coming generations.

Heimat: The Story of a Family

Heritage Associate's most recent history is a narrative of the Mika, Przybyla, Wojton, Ross and Metzger and Jens families.

Research trips to Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and France uncovered lost details of seven generations. This beautifully illustrated book tells stories of migration from small country villages to the imperial capital city of Vienna in the 1890's. The families survive events surrounding the collapse of the Hapsburg Empire after World War I, the rise and fall of the Third Reich and the post World War II occupation of Austria by the Soviet Red Army. Cousins still living in those countries, and friends from long ago produced photos, maps and memories of everyday life during those times.

Privately published for family members.

Does your family have a story that needs to be told?
Heritage Associates is in the memory business!

Graphic Designers: Dan Huish cover by Marta Dansie; Heimat cover by Amy Robinson

Historical Research

2010-11-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

Dee Halverson in Midway, Utah

"It is a shame that history is ever made dry and tedious, or offered as a chronicle almost exclusively of politics, war, and social issues, when, of course, it is the full sweep of human experience. Politics, war, and social issues are there to be sure, but also music, science, religion, medicine, weather, love, loss, livelihoods in small towns you never heard of. History is a spacious realm." —David McCullough

Dee Halverson of Heritage Associates is writing the history of mink ranching in Utah. Who knew Utah is the largest exporter of mink in the world? The mink ranchers know, and they're telling Dee all about it.

As every story does, this one has come alive with people: family businesses are rife with drama, jealousy, sacrifice; suspense: arson, theft; current events: imports to China, PETA activists freeing the animals; money—ever price a mink coat?

History is about life, little known events and people who didn't make the headlines. But the stories have changed the world.

Do you have a story that ought to be told? Contact Dee Halverson at Heritage Associates, LLC.

Heritage Associates: Clients and Projects

2010-10-10T22:10:00.000-06:00

HERITAGE ASSOCIATES, LLC has done project for the following clients:

Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr. / The Bechtel Group
Beneficial Life Insurance Company
Bonneville International Corporation
Dr. Rodney H. Brady
British LDS Historic Sites
Browning Arms Museum
D. Fraser Bullock, Salt Lake Olympic Committee
Louis H. Callister Biography
Stephen Mack Covey Biography
Thomas D. Dee II Biography
E.R. “Zeke” Dumke Family History
C.R. England & Sons Trucking
Robert H. Garff Biography
Royal Garff Biography
Geneva Steel Archive Collection
Miles Goodyear Cabin Restoration
Harris / Hite Family History
Intermountain Health Care History
Ireland Bank Corporation
Jones, Waldo, Holbrook & McDonough LLP
Keenan Family History
KSL Radio & Television
Rabbi Samuel Koch Family
LDS Conference Center
Edmund Littlefield Family History
Arch L. Madsen
Midway: Portrait of a Town
Mika / Przybyla / Ross Family History
NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Stephen L Richards Biography
Salt Lake City & County Building Restoration
Silver Creek Valley & The Town That Once Was
Roy & Elizabeth Simmons
St. Mark’s Hospital History
Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart
Summit County History of Sheep Ranching, Logging & Coal Mining
Utah Valley Regional Medical Center
M. Walker Wallace Family History
William Madison Wall
Wallsburg: A Valley of Dreams
Wattis Family History
Wheeler Machinery Company
Robert W. Barker Biography
R.C. Willey Home Furnishings
Young Electric Sign Company History
Dan Huish Biography
Tom Mullin Biography

Midway, Utah

2010-07-16T00:10:00.000-06:00

Mining for Memories

Dee Halverson went on a mining expedition in Midway, Utah last week. A hundred years ago, would-be millionaires made fortunes from silver in the neighboring valleys, but Dee was searching for something much more valuable. Memories.

Kay Probst, Midway Utah

Kay Probst has been exploring this valley for more than seventy years, and knows every canyon, trail and peak personally. Devil's Hole, Sid's Canyon, Bonner Hollow, Dutch Fields, Gerber Springs, Snake Creek, Jesse's Mound—there are stories for dozens of campfires, heroes for every bike ride and villains for every hike.

Mount Timpanogos from Memorial Hill, Midway Utah

History is scattered all around Midway if you know what to look for. The town hall, a pot-rock saw, the House That Jack Built, an old sheep camp, hot pots, Memorial Hill—the mountains themselves have stories to tell.

Over the mountain to Park City and Brighton

They just need to be written down. Heritage Associates is making sure they won't be lost to future generations by mining for memories. Midway: Portrait of a Town was published in 2003. Midway: Portrait of a People will be available for Christmas.

Photos by Scott Robinson

Dee will follow anyone anywhere for a good story.

Dee's Projects

2010-06-26T01:00:00.001-06:00

"Nobody trusts a young historian."

The door opened and I heard the jingle of Dee's keys as he put them on the table. Then I heard his briefcase thump as he dropped it on the chair. I went in to say hello and was startled to see his mud-streaked pants. He looked miserable! His arms and the backs of his hands had splotches of caked, dried mud spotting them, his shirt was damp and dirty and there were patches of mud on his forehead when he removed his wet baseball hat.

"What happened to you?" I asked. In a pathetic whimper he said, "Dear, I've had a really bad day."

He peeled off his wet and dirty duds, washed the mud out of his hair, and came into the kitchen shaky with hunger. After a restorative ham sandwich, he was able to tell me his tale.

Dee puts the story in history.

Dee is writing a second volume about the history of Midway, Utah, this time detailing the stories of more contemporary events and people. He had an interview scheduled with a former mayor. The 80+ year-old rancher met Dee at the town hall, riding aMule. It does everything the animal does: packs a load and is sure-footed on steep curves. But it's more like a 4-wheel drive golf cart, open on the sides for a breezy ride.

The mayor wanted to show Dee some particular accomplishments of his administration, and said they could get there easier in the Mule. Dee hopped aboard and they toured the irrigation ditches and discussed bringing water to the desert community in pioneer times. They visited some of the numerous old homes, and drove up to the top of Snake Creek Canyon. It was a great interview from both perspectives. The mayor had lots to talk about and finally somebody anxious to listen, and Dee was filling in many gaps in his research. There's no source like an original source, and this guy had actually lived Dee's story.

Suddenly there was a lightning bolt and an immediate crash of thunder. A cloudburst drenched them both within seconds. The rain wasn't falling down, it was being blown sidewards right through the open sides of the cart. The rancher knew all the hide-a-ways, and drove quickly to a passageway under the road where sheep cross without blocking traffic. The men clamored out of their cart and slid down to the tunnel, where they stood, sheltered from the pelting rain, listening to the fireworks going off in the sky. After about 30 minutes, the clouds cleared, and the sun came out.

As Dee was climbing the slick mud hill back up to the road, he lost his footing and slid, finally losing his balance and landing face first in the sludge. Embarrassed in front of his weathered guide, he said it was nothing, he was fine. He must have convinced the old guy, because he continued the excursion around the valley while Dee air-dried.

When he was dropped off back at the town hall, the mud was too wet to brush off, and not dry enough to chip off, but on the hour-long drive home it hardened and most of the big chunks fell off when he climbed out of the car. He staggered to our door and burst inside in a poof of dust.

Some people think historians just sit in a library and memorize dates. Not always. Lots of the time they're exploring interesting places looking for clues to unravel a mystery. The clues are in the types of mortar used in the buildings, the way the stones were cut, the tools left forgotten in the back of an ancient barn. There are clues in irrigation records, carved in tree trunks, and especially in the memories of old folks who did things the hard way and built a community.

Miles Goodyear Cabin

Dee writes about many previously unknown heroes who made a difference in the past that made an impact on the future. They crossed rivers, stood against enemies, harvested boulders, chopped down trees, faced fire and floods, and probably had a lot of really bad days. I think Dee takes pleasure in having a bad day of his own once in a while, while pursuing and telling their stories.

Who in your past made a difference? What difference are you making for the future? If you've ever found yourself wallowing in the mud, writing about how you got out is really important. It might make a difference to somebody else when they have a really bad day. That's your history, in the making.

Grass Creek, Utah

2010-06-14T09:00:00.006-06:00

Dee Halverson was recently hunting ghosts in the desert mountain canyons and valleys east of Park City, Utah. He was searching for memories of Grass Creek, a thriving town that once had over 500 residents, a school, church, and railroad station from 1860, but totally disappeared in about 1965.

There is almost no evidence of the huge coal mines and boarding houses, and the numerous company homes on that property. The local folks made memories here: The kids used to ice skate a couple of miles to the one-room school house, and ride their horses along the train tracks the 1/2 hour it took to reach the wild, booming silver mining town of Park City. There they tied up their horses on Main Street while they visited the movie theater for a matinee.

The residents took in homeless people, giving food, board and often work to get them on their feet. There were romances, feuds, deaths and births. But although they made memories, nobody kept them. They aren't written down anywhere. There are very few photos, no scrapbooks, letters or journals. The history is as blank as the landscape.

Outlaws had hideouts in the vicinity, and fortunes were discovered and lost on a daily basis. But who? How? The stories are no less interesting just because we haven't heard them. The ghosts can't hide from this history detective.

Have some ghost towns to haunt or some ghosts to be busted? Heritage Associates specializes in dead people. Contact us in Salt Lake City, Utah at 801-532-2561.

Opening Doors to the Past

2010-04-12T14:08:00.002-06:00

W. Dee Halverson at Heritage Associates, opens doors to the past.

Genealogy, corporate histories, legal research, or family history research on location, are specialties, but those are just the keys. Opening the door requires a story-teller.

Academic histories, while fascinating to a historian, are often too dull to grab regular people by the lapel. What differentiates Halverson from academics is his conviction that history is personal. The dates and places in history books are important only if real personalities jump out of the pages and make themselves memorable. Currently Dee is writing the history of a coal mining community which has now disappeared into the dust.

"One of the most important tasks of a coal miner's wife was having a tub of water heating on the stove ready for the grimy workman to jump into on his return from a twelve-hour shift.

"Lucille Judd, a 93-year-old Grass Creek native recalled, 'In Grass Creek there was only one water source for washing, cooking and bathing. We called it the Town Pump. The townspeople would all line up on Saturday with their buckets and tubs to get water for the family's weekly baths. They would be there again on Sunday night to get water for Monday wash day. I think the only place with running water in Grass Creek was Mrs. Buchanan's boarding house.'"

Grass Creek, Utah is a ghost town, one of many old settlements that have vanished as if by the wave of a magician's wand, leaving only memories to prove they once existed. As fragile as memories are the stories of the people who once lived in these now deserted towns.

Grass Creek, Utah Classroom

Many of today's ghost towns were prosperous mining camps, boom towns built upon silver, gold and even coal. But they might as well have been built upon sand, for they bloomed briefly, then faded and died. Sometimes they were deserted overnight when the miners left to answer the call of rich strikes elsewhere. More often the mines died gradually when their veins pinched out, or when underground water flooded their shafts.

Not many people alive today can remember Grass Creek when hundreds of miners, speaking a dozen different languages, made their way up the six-mile canyon. Or when schools, boarding houses, saloons and homes crowded streets, and picnics, dances and daily chores crowded lives. But no matter its size or how long its life, historic towns like Grass, Creek, Utah should be remembered—if only as places where people lived, loved and died.

Is there a door to your past that needs opening? Heritage Associates has the key! Contact us in Salt Lake City, Utah, at 801-532-2561, or wdhalverson@heritageassociates.com

Collecting Memories

2010-02-22T15:50:00.001-07:00

Ervin Hirschmann about 1950

"Gather memories while ye may, for old men may be dying."

Erwin Hirschmann was a little boy, living in Vienna during World War II. These recollections are from an interview shortly before he died suddenly at age 85, January 1, 2009.

“When war began in September 1939 it meant little to us children. Our routines were not interrupted by an event most of us didn’t even know was taking place, much less understood. War, when we thought of it at all, was something for adults, taking place in lands with strange-sounding names. War seemed heroic to many of us; at least that is how the adults spoke of it when we overheard them over Sunday afternoon dinner. We continued to play hide-and-seek, hopscotch, Cowboys and Indians, went to school, and in time simply added another game to our list—Krieg.

“In 1940 and 1941 the air waves were filled with constant program interruptions of Sondermeldungen, special announcements of great victories by the German armies. But by 1943 there were no more Sondermeldungen. Instead, the drone of enemy aircraft overhead and the wail of the air raid siren began to define our lives in Vienna. Sleeping through a night without being awakened by the wail of a siren or the thump of exploding bombs became a rarity. We clung to our mothers, and when Mutti said that everything would be all right, we tried to believe, holding on even more tightly as we were herded into house cellars and bunkers.

“By 1944 war no longer was a game to us, nor was it heroic. Many of us were called into military service at a very young age. We saw our houses burned, our friends buried under rubble. The air raid siren in Vienna and other large cities became the ultimate sound of terror. The war from the sky, which claimed nearly 600,000 civilians, many of them children, remains a vivid memory for me still.”

Heritage Associates is in the memory business. Oral history interviews give dimension and perspective to lists of names, dates and places; the experiences of a lifetime become relevant to the future. Contact W. Dee Halverson to collect the important memories of people important to you.

Make History

2009-12-08T11:24:00.018-07:00

W. Dee Halverson

“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.”
~Rudyard Kipling

Heritage Associates is in the story-telling business. Remember Y2K? What about hanging chads? They will be answers on a history exam pretty soon, just obscure phrases, unless a story goes along with them. It's easy to forget that we're the ones making history.

Someday a grandchild will ask, "Do you remember 9/11?" When you describe how your neighborhood gathered and lit candles in memory of the victims, how flags flew from every house, and how crowds were afraid to gather, your stories will teach the lessons learned from that tragic time. If you've told your story.

Having had a recent brush with death, Dee Halverson is viewing history from a personal perspective. What will he leave behind? The most meaningful legacy a person can bequeath his posterity is a record of what he learned through his experience.

A whole decade has passed since the start of the new millennium, and a lot has happened. Back then Deep Throat was still a mystery. Terms like iPod and You Tube weren't invented yet, cell phones couldn't take pictures, Katrina was just a Dutch name, and nobody dreamed we'd have an African American president. With these events as a backdrop, your personal history has context. When viewed against the economic challenges of the time, your corporate history can be seen with insight and perspective.

Heritage Associates has told the stories of families, towns, businesses, buildings, and individuals. Dee's research has taken him from Newfoundland to Poland, from the 1600's to the present, and from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Everyone's story is valuable.

If your history is scattered among Day Timers, piles in your drawer, or stacks in your closet, let our experts help you organize and compile a book for those who will look to you for experience. You are making history.

The Future of Memories

2009-09-23T11:51:00.010-06:00

Dee and Josh Halverson share memories.

Heritage Associates collects memories for a reason. Author Dave Eggers said, "The reasons for writing a memoir are many, but there is one that trumps all others: You should write your story because you will someday die, and without your story on paper, most of it will be forgotten."

Museums, art galleries, universities, libraries—much of what we want to leave the coming generation consists of accumulated facts, truth, and wisdom. Yet, we're strangely casual about informing our kids about their own families. The family group sheets might list hundreds of names and dates and hometowns, marriages and children. But beyond these skeletal details, there is no other record of former lives. And so these people, their experience, voice and knowledge, are lost to us. A sampling of their memories was presumably passed to their children, and then a faded version of that sketch was passed to the next generation. From there people are reduced to names, dates and cemeteries. What they felt and wanted and saw is gone.

This past weekend the W. Dee Halverson family celebrated its beginnings. Dee, Marty, seven children and their spouses gathered to commemorate birthdays and a 40th wedding anniversary. Memories were retold and love renewed. It was a reminder that if parents and grandparents want their descendants to know their stories, they need to be written down.

Heritage Associates specializes in assisting clients compile a comprehensive and readable family history. Putting that extra bit of effort into it, collecting the perfect images, carving here and chipping there, planning a bit before and editing a bit after, might ensure that your story is not only read dutifully by a few relatives, but is enjoyed enthusiastically by anyone who might find it. It is the heritage only you can give them.

Celebrate your beginnings.

History Makes Recession Road Less Rocky

2009-07-13T14:07:00.013-06:00

Find a path; leave a trail.

We're hearing the challenges in every newscast, reading them on the stock market pages, and feeling them in our homes and wallets. We don't need more information on recession difficulties—we need information on recession solutions.

Heritage Associates knows history has the answers. How did a business survive during the depression? What did your grandmother do to stretch a depleted pantry? Who did your grandfather turn to in a personal crisis? Where did his employer find money to meet pay roll?

Our problems aren't new; we're new to the problems. Remedies are available if we look to the past, and apply age-old values to our future.

A corporate history is the perfect way to reassure clients and employees that solving problems is a tradition in your company. Remembering pressures of former economic downturns, and the vision and innovations that led to renewal will encourage creativity. An anniversary booklet enumerating goals and accomplishments will remind all concerned of your time-honored dependability.

Families look to those who survived personal struggles for assurance. True heroes are difficult to find in our society, but there are many hidden in the branches of a family tree. When their stories are told, descendants will recognize that courage and optimism are part of their heritage, and renew their own resolve.

We are living through a time that will provide hope to future generations; we are making valuable history on a daily basis. Those that follow us will need our experience to get through rocky patches of their own.

Make sure those coming behind you
have a trail to follow.

Right now is a crucial time to keep a record of setbacks, snags, solutions and successes. Heritage Associates LLC is prepared to help you. A successful history will repeat itself.

W. Dee Halverson

Lund, Nevada

2009-06-29T21:37:00.015-06:00

Lund, NV

From London to Lund, Heritage Associates specializes in research on location.

No matter where the story takes place, the process is similar for Dee and Marty Halverson. In this case the fieldwork took place in fields surrounding a beautiful valley 75 miles from Ely, Nevada. Small local museums and archives gave clues to the first settlement, with detailed maps, old photos and early documents. The family who commissioned this history recommended folks for oral interviews. With diaries, letters, old newspaper clippings and scrapbooks, the story began to unfold.

Thirty Mormon pioneer families from St. George, Utah, made the 250-mile trek north by covered wagon in the late 1890's. One young wife wrote that her husband left her behind to safely deliver her new baby. Ten days later she joined a group to travel with her 2-year-old daughter and infant son on a 2-week journey to join him in her new home—a tent-covered dug-out.

The desert conditions were improved
by bringing water to the community from nearby streams.

There is still evidence of the logs that were
hollowed out and used as water pipes.

The old school is a monument to education.
Fannie was a school teacher who lived with the Carter family
and eventually fell in love with one of their sons.
She taught all ages in one small room.

Log cabins and adobe houses replaced
tents and dug-outs.

Windmills provided power.

And the desert began to blossom.

These folks made a difference
and they all have stories to tell.

Book Designs

2009-05-05T20:10:00.002-06:00

All art work is from the book: The LDS Conference Center

When Dee Halverson studied architectural preservation in York, England he became acquainted with what has become a favorite quote by John Ruskin:

"When we build let us think that we build for ever. Let it not be for present delight, nor for present use alone; let it be such work as our descendants will thank us. Let us think, as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say as they look upon the labour, 'See! This our fathers did for us.'"

Heritage Associates originally produced The LDS Conference Center: The Story of Its Construction to honor Legacy Constructors and more than 4,000 workers, who built the magnificent edifice in just over 1,000 days. That book was edited and reworked for the public, and is now available again in a new edition.

Amy Robinson is a freelance graphic artist and an associate of Heritage Associates LLC. She has laid out each of the books and talks here about her craft:

"The Conference Center is a beautiful and modern edifice in historical downtown Salt Lake City. Standing across the street from the Salt Lake Temple built by pioneers, this new building is a testament to the longevity of faith and tradition amongst an ever changing world. I wanted to celebrate this notion in the design of the 2nd edition.

"One of the first things I like to design is the book's cover. A unique, interesting cover draws readers to a book. I want it to say something even before you read the words.

"For various projects I've searched for inspiration in old photos, a family's heritage, or, as in the case of the LDS Conference Center, architecture. Once I have a theme I carefully select fonts to carry a certain style throughout the book. I want each of the books I design to reflect the character of the stories inside.

"My work is in the details: the font, the colors, borders, text flow and pictures. I love to personalize all of these details to create a certain feel for a book. With the LDS Conference Center book, I wanted to create a feeling of reverence and beauty while celebrating the modernity of the building's design.

"I used contrasts to create a tone. For instance: a classic font contrasting with a very modern font throughout the book creates a juxtaposition between old and new. The same thing happens when you mix bright, vivid, digital images with old black and white photographs. We feel a sense of time and timelessness in this marvelous building.

"Themes and ratios from the building's architecture inspired borders, titles and textures within the book. We kept much of the text and many of the same images used in the 1st edition, but with the advances in printing and designing software, the 2nd edition has an elegance and style that was lacking before. We tightened the kerning of the text, and used high quality digital images to create a more streamlined effect."

Amy's training as an art historian benefits her work. "Studying classic and modern art has given me the eye of an artist. Learning about shape, line, texture, and color through the eyes of Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Mondrian has aided me when creating my own projects. The many different styles of art throughout history has opened my eyes to ways to display feelings and thoughts. This variety helps me create a custom design fitting the needs of my clients."

"I did not set out to be a graphic designer. I went to college and studied Art History. After graduating, I knew I needed to learn a profitable skill and graphic design was a perfect fit! My brother, Peter, took me under his wings and taught me all that he knew. His training and a lot of trial and error has brought me to the point I'm at now. There is always more to learn, since the technology is always advancing."

Amy Robinson

Amy is a mom with three young daughters, whom she home schools. Volunteering in her church and neighborhood keeps her busy. "Every day is a struggle to balance the many roles I play. I feel lucky that I can stay home with my children. Before I had them, graphic designing was my identity. Now, it has been labeled my "profitable hobby." When the kids are playing or sleeping, I sit down at my laptop and have a little fun designing. I like the feeling of being productive through my creative outlet. I create invitations, scrapbook pages, flyers and other smaller projects for clients when I'm between books."

Heritage Projects appreciates Amy's talents.

The LDS Conference Center

2009-04-02T09:56:00.008-06:00

The LDS Conference Center 2nd Edition

Heritage Associates originally published The LDS Conference Center in 2000 to correspond with the opening and dedication of the building. W.Dee Halverson compiled dozens of interviews with the major players who conceived, designed, built and finished the majestic edifice in record time.

The story is told using personal experiences, magnificent photographs, and structural information unavailable elsewhere. In fact, the text of the book forms the basis of the narrative given by over 900 volunteer guides who lead thousands of tours every year in Salt Lake City.

The first 10,000 books sold rapidly and The LDS Conference Center has been out-of-print for several years. Due to high demand, Dee has prepared a second edition, with additional information and photographs in an updated format. This book is going to print immediately and will be available to the general public soon.

"The book is one-of-a-kind. I'm asked about it wherever I go, and am pleased to offer it again as a tribute to the vision of President Gordon B. Hinckley and all those who were part of the creation of the LDS Conference Center," said Dee Halverson.

Often Dee's projects are researched and written for specific clients. This book was prepared for everyone who believes (or wants to believe) in miracles.

New Publication

2009-03-31T00:15:00.000-06:00

All images from Heritage Associates Projects

Finishing a book at Heritage Associates is like having a baby. After long months of excited preparation, followed by intense labor at the end, the whole team gathers to congratulate each other on a job well-done, and gaze fondly at the newborn. It is already known and loved, but everybody wants to see what it looks like.

Marta Dansie, a talented free-lance graphic artist (and daughter of Dee Halverson) has been a layout designer for Heritage Associates' books since 2001. Marta collects ideas. She has dozens of files filled with clippings, photos and illustrations of anything she thinks she might need one day. Combined with an artistic eye and a poet's imagination, her compositions are always distinctive. I asked her about the process she uses to create a rich, unique and interesting page-by-page design.

Marta said:
I love starting a new book! When Dee has finished writing the text, he hands the chapters over to me in a hefty three ring binder. His books are usually histories about individuals, families, cities, or businesses, so there is a lot of new material to get familiar with. I learn so much about interesting people and places in this first step.

I try to get the vision of what each particular book should look like as I read. Designing books is first and foremost about enhancing the author's text. Dee travels near and far, puts in hours of research, and performs numerous interviews before he even begins telling the tales. When the manuscript is ready for me to start designing, it contains many months of work. I hope to highlight the words and bring the histories to life with art. I jot down ideas for design that come to me while I pore over the chapters.

Once I'm acquainted with the text, I begin the task of scanning the images to be featured in the book. It's best to err on the side of too many images and artifacts, guaranteeing that we feature the very best images in each chapter.

Dee rifles through dusty attics, pages through vintage albums and hunts through boxes to find the perfect pieces to add life to his text. Together we decide which photos, documents, and ephemera need to go in which chapter. This is when I familiarize myself with the faces from the text. I like to get to know the characters. I enjoy working with sepia photographs from yesteryear, ancient documents with well-worn deep creases, beloved army letters which have been saved in their ripped envelopes, passports with young, healthy faces ready for adventure, beautiful paper money from all across the globe, and small colorful stamps sent from here to there. I use Photoshop software to improve the speckled, dusty or damaged images. Dee's clients appreciate seeing these treasures combined on an archival CD to keep for future generations.

Coming up with the skeleton of the book is all-important. I attempt to find out what Dee's vision is for his story. He knows it better than anyone and often has ideas of what the book should feel like. Together we determine the basics for the book: size and shape, paper weight and finish, the binding method, the cover material, etc. This is often choreographed with the print shop to discuss price and any limitations there may be. We narrow down the millions of possibilities. I appreciate knowing the boundaries of a project: I can think bigger if I understand the limits.

Then Dee lets me loose with my imagination and the real graphic design comes into play. Concentrating on one chapter at a time, designing a 200 page book becomes a manageable feat. I use InDesign software to create the blank book, set up margins, pick type size, and prep all the page components before actually laying out the text.

I select dozens of fonts that I think might work with the feel of the story. I pair them together and decide on the ones that are legible, interesting, and bring out the flavor of the history within the text. Choosing photos and ephemera that illustrate the words on each page is a big part of my job as a book designer. Using my best judgment I settle on those that suit the story, fit on the page neatly, and add to the overall look of the book. I like colorful images that pop on the page, yet don't distract from the story itself.

I always prepare a prototype of the first chapter for Dee to look over and show the client. Once I know they are pleased, I continue to design the rest of the book, chapter by chapter. I go back and forth, finding images that might work better here or there. By the time I finish designing a book, I know what photo is on page 43 and what clipart I used on page 109. Putting time and effort into careful designing makes both the images and text look like they belong together. My goal in building a book, is to marry the overall design to the author's text in a seamless fashion, enhancing the fascinating stories.

Marta's enthusiasm for her work allows her to work incredibly hard for long stretches to meet deadlines. This is her new baby!

Book Smart

2009-03-10T15:42:00.009-06:00

You can recognize a true book-lover by the way he touches an old book. He notices the feel and smell of the leather, the softness of the pages, the embossing on the cover, the colors of the endpapers.

Dee Halverson, president of Heritage Associates, LLC, has always loved historical artifacts of every variety. When he first started collecting old books, he became familiar with the problems peculiar to them: loose hinges, torn linings and dust jackets, frayed spines, and other defects that begged to be fixed.

While studying historic preservation in York, England, Dee had the opportunity to apprentice with a world-renowned book binder (Peter Smith on Grape Lane) where he learned many tricks of the trade. Since then, as Dee acquires books, he examines, cleans, and, when necessary, gently repairs each addition to his library. His book repair kit is stashed in a closet, with supplies that have added life to favorite old books, from nursery rhyme collections to holy scriptures.

It is routine for Dee to investigate the volumes on some one's bookshelf and say, "Can I take this book home and fix it for you?"

He assembles pots of special adhesives, toothpicks, small artist's brushes, wax paper, alcohol, Vaseline, fine grain sandpaper, large soft erasers, clean cloths, elastics and heavy books to use as weights. Baking soda, solid air freshener and even leaves of tobacco can be used to "de-stink" moldy pages in a large suitcase or metal file-cabinet drawer.

The English bibliographer William Blades said, "An old book, whatever its subject, is truly a portion of history. We may imitate it or reprint it, but we can never exactly reproduce it; as an historical document it should be carefully preserved."

To Dee Halverson, every book is a personal friend.

Midway Utah Celebrates 150 Years

2009-02-07T16:54:00.003-07:00

Wasatch County, Utah

What are you doing April 15, 2009? Bake a big cake to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Midway, Utah. Dee Halverson will blow out the candles, although his wish is coming true. Since writing Midway: Portrait of a Town, Heritage Associates has worked towards creating a memorial to the earliest pioneers.

On April 15, 1859, after a long, difficult journey up the Provo Canyon Road, Benjamin Mark Smith, David Wood, Jesse McCarrell, Sidney Epperson and Jeremiah Robey and their families were the first to settle the lower part of Snake Creek. They called their settlement "Smith's Grove."

A few weeks later, another settlement on the upper part of Snake Creek was founded as "Mound City." A fort was established by the two growing communities for protection against Indian hostilities in 1866. Because it was exactly midway between the two earlier settlements it was designated Fort Midway.

The Mound City site has been recognized by an historic monument on the Homestead Road for many years, but the Smith's Grove location has been long forgotten. This year a new LDS Chapel is being constructed on Center Street not far from the original "Smith's Grove" location. Preliminary plans indicate that the Smith's Grove Chapel will be ready for dedication about the time of the 150th anniversary. Plans also include a memorial plaque and monument on the site to honor those who first established Midway.

Home to resorts, golf courses, and spectacular scenery, Midway is one of the fastest growing towns in Utah. Residents both new and old salute the foresight and hardiness of the first pioneers.

Book Work

2009-01-28T11:13:00.011-07:00

Dee in Vienna 2008
Antiquariat Books
Weihburggasse 16

Creating a book is an art form, and a specialty of Heritage Associates.

After researching a subject for months, collecting interviews and organizing data, the book work begins. Writing, re-writing, copy editing, inserting and blending; then line editing and rewriting again. Images are accumulated from the start, but now comes the process of sifting through photographs, ephemera, illustrations and examples.

Ideas come by poring through old books, noticing fonts, dropped caps, title pages, appendixes. The heft of a book, and how it's meant to be read is considered. Will the reader be sitting at a table with room to spread out, or will this book be tucked in a backpack to be read on an airplane? The weight and size is critical so it will be comfortable in a reader's hand.

Our graphic artist marries the text to the artwork with incredible composition skills: scanning, cropping, experimenting with margins, designing chapter layouts, spacing the images and connecting them to the story. Captions are added. Paper is chosen by judging weight and glossiness: what will show off photographs the best, without causing glare and eyestrain. The file is finally sent to the printer who creates a prototype for binding.

With the finished book in hand, a die-cut is created for the cover and title. Decisions about the binding are finalized: three-quarter leather, full leather, embossing, color, and the spine lettering. Hand-made marbleized end-papers are chosen for special presentation copies. For one book, actual blueprints of the featured building were used. The book makes the exciting trip to the bindery, where it will become a real book at last. This is an art Heritage Associates is known for.

Roots of Heritage Associates

2008-12-23T16:25:00.002-07:00

Bootham Bar, York, England

Heritage Associates, LLC has it's roots in England. Dee and Marty Halverson moved their family of nine to the ancient walled city of York for a year in 1985 while Dee got a master's degree in Historic Preservation at the University of York.

During that time, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was preparing to celebrate 150 years in the British Isles. A professor at BYU was writing a book on the subject and asked Dee to search out some particular historical sites in England. Memorable events and locations were described in diaries written 150 years before by Heber C. Kimball and Wilford Woodruff, but the coordinates had disappeared from modern maps. Names like Hilltop Farm, Castle Frome, Benbow Pond and Job Pingree's Mill were well-known to LDS historians, but the actual places were lost in the depths of the countryside.

English Countryside

Dee was further asked to follow the journals and find appropriate locations for the Church to place historic plaques, hold celebrations, and even purchase property for the British saints to enjoy.

Over several months Dee and Marty traveled the length and breadth of England's narrow, crooked roads, using 100-year-old ordnance maps, collecting information from local folks. LDS church members (Mormons) had immigrated en masse to Utah in the 1850's, and their important places weren't important to the people now living in England. Many British Latter-day Saints didn't know the history of their earlier counterparts who had left, and were unfamiliar with the church sites themselves. One major reason for the celebrations, plaques and documentation was to acquaint members with their own church history.

Without the aid of a computer, satellite map, or GPS, Dee and Marty gathered precise details. It was an unpaid job; in fact they actually paid their own expenses. But it was like an apprenticeship, and they discovered they loved gathering history and assembling the pieces together like a puzzle. Facts, locales and human stories must be compiled and put into written form to be accessible to scholars. This on-the-ground research was valuable, necessary, and Dee and Marty recognized they were good at it.

Using a magnifying glass to read the old maps, Dee found significant markets, lodgings, farms and ponds, and then transposed them onto modern maps. Sometimes the roads were gone; often Marty had to climb out of the car and peer through high hedgerows to see the ruins hidden behind them. Luckily things don't change too quickly in England and they eventually compiled directions to a cemetery in Llanelli, Wales, to a home on the Isle of Man, to a stone wall in Downham, Lancashire, with many noteworthy farms, chapels, and rivers in between. The history now had a setting.

Preston, England

After returning to Salt Lake City in 1986, Dee served on the committee that prepared the historical markers. He also established a private preservation trust and raised money to purchase and rebuild some of the buildings he had found in ruins. There are guided tours in Britain designed around these sites today.

Gadfield Elm Chapel

The next year the Halversons went back to England for a month to set up displays in town halls and libraries around the country, and transport the plaques to their destinations. When it was all over, it was time to find a real job.

In connection with these events, Dee had a chance to interview Gordon B. Hinckley who was a counselor in the 1st Presidency of the Church at the time. He asked Dee about his career plans after the Sesquicentennial was over and Dee told him he was considering a job with the Church archives.

President Hinckley recognized some characteristics and talents unique to Dee. He said this:

"Dee, history is not just in the archives. Most of it is in the attics and basements of everyday people, waiting to be discovered. You tell those stories."

And Heritage Associates was born.

Dee Halverson: History of the Historian

2008-12-03T20:54:00.009-07:00

Zhorec, Czech Republic
2008

You might say that I was born to history, because I was one of the first wave of post-World War II baby boomers. My birthday, October 5, 1946, came exactly nine months after my father returned home after serving in the U.S. Army in Europe. His tales of army life in England and France were enhanced by the various wartime souvenirs and artifacts that he kept religiously. The pages of newspaper clippings, maps, foreign stamps and coins fascinated me and stimulated my interest in faraway geography, history and culture.

Even my elementary school, Timpanogos, was named for a long-since disappeared tribe of local Native Americans, as well as an 11,000-foot overwhelmingly beautiful mountain peak nearby. Each day from Kindergarten through 6th Grade my route from home to school and back took me past some historic sites—the small group of well-preserved, Mormon pioneer log cabins in Sowiette Park and the well-preserved artifacts and docents in the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum. There was also a large granite-topped monument with a bronze plaque telling of the settlement of the Provo, Utah area. I was always trying to figure out how to pry loose the large “fool’s gold” rocks embedded within the monument.

Great teachers of history, languages and geography continually inspired me with stories of Richard Halliburton, the world traveler / explorer; Spanish padres and mountainmen fur-trappers who explored our mountains and valleys; and also the faith-driven colonizers of our land. I always found myself connecting with these subjects and disinterested in science, math or trigonometry. When it was time to go to college there was no hesitation for me to dive headfirst into all the Humanities, at the same time that “plastics” and aerospace were all the rage. I would simply not be put off by those who would ask, “But what are you going to do with it?”

Opportunities opened up for me to continue my quest. I cruised through my college courses, always deferring the unattractive classes in the Sciences that were required. Then I was called to serve a two-year mission for my church in West Germany which opened up a whole new world of inquiry. Later I returned to Europe to study more history and culture on a semester abroad program. As an added bonus I met my future wife who was also studying in Austria. Now I had someone to share my passion for the past and other things with. Marty and I were determined to have a dozen children; raise them in a German-speaking household; and some day take them to live in a foreign country.

Although I had set my sights on the Foreign Service, the war in Vietnam came crashing into our lives with the military draft lottery of December 1969. It was the first and only lottery that I was declared a winner—my draft number was 24th out of 365. By the time I had completed the ROTC courses three years later, I had a college degree and a growing family of three children. Before being commissioned I received a medical discharge and started planning all over again.

After a detour into the business world, Marty and I took our seven children to York, England so I could complete an advanced degree in History while living in a medieval, walled-city. Finally, I was on track again.

Returning home to Utah I decided to hang out my shingle as a Public Historian. In 1985 our company, Heritage Associates, LLC, was founded to provide history-based products to institutions, government, individuals and families. Since that time we have been dedicated to communicating the client’s history in a clear and engaging story. Our purpose is to preserve the personal or corporate memories that create a lasting legacy for future generations.

For nearly twenty-five years it has been my pleasure to research and write over fifty books of corporate, family and personal history; to conduct hundreds of oral-history interviews to preserve past memories; and to weave strands of lives, past and present, into a tapestry which tells the story of what has gone on before. I have done research throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Great Britain. There is nothing that excites me more than working on topics that have never been done or finding artifacts and documents that fill in the missing pieces. It is a blessing to be engaged in work that is meaningful and worthwhile.

At sixty-two I look forward to new projects to immerse myself in, knowing full well that there are simply more great stories out there yet to be told than I have time to complete. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next twenty-five years.

Dee at Riveaux Abbey
Yorkshire, England 2006

Yesco

2008-11-15T10:00:00.005-07:00

The History of Young Electric Sign Company
YESCO

Heritage Associates has done extensive research on the history of signs, organizing the archives and writing the history of Young Electric Sign Company. "What started as a small sign lettering company in the 1920's has become one of the largest electric sign companies in the world." This is the company that lights up Las Vegas, and produces billboards and signs that are familiar to people everywhere.

The intensive period of study required for each project makes Dee Halverson an expert on many topics. Knowledge and interest turn into new hobbies for Dee. Because of his work for YESCO, he is fascinated by signs wherever he goes.

Photos taken in Colmar, France September 2008

Research in Colmar, France gave Dee a chance to see vintage signs up close.

Wrought-iron signs decorate the shops.

In medieval times, when many people couldn't read,
graphics told folks what was being sold...

...or the service being rendered.

What illustration would you choose to portray yourself?
What's YOUR sign?

These antique signs have become art, depicting and enhancing the history of a town.

Do you have an anniversary or milestone approaching?
Use it as a sign post to show where you've been and where you're going.

Yesco Anniversary Commemorative Book

The past enriches the present, and gives inspiration for the future.

Let Heritage Associates tell your story.

Heritage Associates: What We'll Do For You

2008-11-05T18:16:00.007-07:00

Dee's Alma Mater

Heritage Associates is a public history company. Some of our services and products include:

Corporate Anniversaries

Writing

Editing/Copywriting

Printing and Bindery Coordination

Archive Development

Heritage Associates: Corporate History

2008-11-05T16:37:00.006-07:00

Commemorative Booklet
Judge Building 100th Anniversary

Heritage Associates is in the memory business. Corporate anniversaries and other milestones are opportunities to revive moments of glory, and celebrate the values, business practices and innovators that reflect the high standards of your organization.

An anniversary is an opportunity to leverage past accomplishments with plans for the future. It invites media coverage. Exhibits, booklets or larger publications can share successes, build employee morale and be used for future promotion of your organization. Insights of current leaders, employees and customers are valuable, as are historical documents, old newspaper articles, photographs and memorabilia. We can inventory the material you have to prepare for an event.

One client used Heritage Associates to research and prepare a traveling exhibit. Throughout the anniversary month, the founders visited offices in ten different locations for a celebratory dinner where anecdotes and historical facts were presented. The exhibit displayed a time line of the company in photos, text and images. Ultimately it became part of the corporate office decor, informing former and potential clients, as well as new employees, of a dynamic history and exciting future.

Compelling, historically accurate accounts can be a tool for meeting current goals. Your story can be told in newsletters, marketing brochures and office art to demonstrate how key decisions in the past are relevant to today's demands. Heritage Associates can deliver a turnkey service, from concept development, research and interviews, through writing, design, editing, imagery, printing and binding. We can tell your story in an exciting way, while adhering to the highest standards of historical practice.

Heritage can become one of your organization's greatest assets.

Wallsburg, Utah

2008-11-05T15:54:00.005-07:00

Wallsburg, Utah

Standing in the center of Wallsburg village is the 115-year-old Ford Merchantile Store. Although it is no longer open for business, it was the hub of commercial activity during four generations. The store represents the essence of Wallsburg--faith, commitment and service. Inside is the original telephone that was installed in 1897, that provided townspeople with a connection with the outside world before radio or television. In the back corner stands the barred-window that served as Wallsburg's first post office.

W. Dee Halverson became familiar with the beginnings of this unique village in Round Valley while writing the biography of it's founder, William Madison Wall, in 1991. Commissioned in 2005 to write a history of the community, Heritage Associates has watched it awaken from a sleepy little farm town to a coveted address. Newcomers and visitors are fascinated by this photo-rich chronicle of "A Valley of Dreams."

Heritage Associates: Litigation Research

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Smith and Morehouse in Summit County, Utah

Heritage Associates has done research for attorneys to locate and analyze information needed to reconstruct the past. Many legal cases need to be put in historical context for the stories to be understood.

To verify the continuous public use of livestock trails and mining roads, we explored paths that used to be lined with saloons and brothels. Much of the area is now inaccessible by car, so other modes of travel were necessary.

Dee on Rail Trail at Silver Creek Junction in
Summit County, Utah 2007

Oral interviews, old maps and scrapbook photos were employed to find routes that miners and sheepherders used for decades. Notes left on aspen trees led to crumbling foundations, and the ruins of former camps, indicating continuous public use of the property.

One of many "Sweetheart Trees" along the Perdue Creek road.

George Carter drowned in the Weber River during a railroad tie drive in 1877.

Even a lost grave was discovered in our explorations. Heritage Associates can find relevant and significant facts to make the past applicable to your situation.

Heritage Associates: Oral History

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Old-Timers in Grass Creek, Utah

Grass Creek, Utah is a ghost town. It was once a thriving community in Summit County, with a population of nearly 1,000 Italian, Greek, Slovakian, Chinese and American coal miners. Since nobody lives in the Grass Creek Valley, it now only comes alive in peoples' memories and scrapbooks.

Heritage Associates has carried out oral history interviews to tap into the memories of the people who remember this forgotten community. Skilled oral historians ask the right questions, so that participants feel pride in their contribution. Stories passed on by parents take on special meaning when nothing has been written before to recognize their contributions, and dignity is given back to those who built the foundations for a way of life.

Oral histories recover a record in fleeting memories. Heritage Associates recognizes the value in discovering vital details with living case studies.

Midway, Utah

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Midway: Portrait of a Town
by
W. Dee Halverson

Midway: Portrait of a Town was commissioned by the Midway Heritage Foundation for publication in 2003. Midway is located off highway 40, south of Park City, Utah in Heber Valley. It gained international attention during the 2002 Winter Olympics as the site of cross country and Nordic skiing events.

In preparation for this project, Heritage Associates spent two years examining private and government archives, collecting photos, oral interviews and historic documentation. The result was a hardbound book richly illustrated with images, stories and photographs from the past and present.

During the research of Midway, many other stories came to light. In the town, which was founded in 1859, there are numerous architectural masterpieces. Bonner's Corners was produced by Heritage Associates to tell the story of the original families who lived in the unique red houses that still stand on Midway's Main Street.

Bonner's Corners
by
Dee Halverson

Luke's Hot Pots is another offshoot of the Midway project, describing the history of hot pots (turned resorts and spas) that the area is known for.

Smith's Grove, settled April 15, 1859, is one of two original settlements that joined forces to build Fort Midway. Current research is underway for a Sesquicentennial Celebration in 2009, supported by business, religious and community leaders.

The Swiss influence in Midway is undeniable. Heritage Associates has followed the paths of 20 original settlers who came from the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland to this verdant farm valley in Utah, and will soon be able to connect those early contributions to the contributions Midway's citizens continue to make.

Heritage Associates: Why You Need Us

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Archive in Colmar, France

Heritage Associates answers important questions about the past to give perspective to the present, and understanding for the future. Working across disciplines and with team members familiar with a wide variety of subjects, life in earlier times is uncovered and put into context. At Heritage Associates we give value to your past.

Heritage Associates is a public history company using traditional as well as modern techniques. Geography, archaeology, art history, folklore, politics and literature all contribute to an understanding of the human experience. Knowledge of philately (stamps), numismatics (coins and medals), paleography (ancient writing and documents) is helpful, along with special language skills, especially in German, French, Greek or Latin. Handwritten archival material was often recorded in old English or Germanic script, and a reading proficiency is vital. Heritage Associates is competent in all of these areas.

Marty in Tabor, Czech Republic

Our historians spend a great deal of time reading diaries, letters, periodicals, government records, and microfilm. They have become experts on the history of particular places, periods, and societies. Reading ship-manifests, land descriptions, census and tax documents has familiarized them with the movement of people related to economic and civic conditions. The primary sources handled by Heritage Associates have made proper archival techniques relevant and necessary. We have organized personal attic archives as well as business archives comprised of hundreds of file cabinets into searchable, convenient resources for the client.

Oral interviews create new source material for projects. Experiences hiding in memories, combined with contemporary maturity is valuable in understanding current society. Remembered circumstances, emotions, hardships and daily activities add depth to dates, maps and scrapbooks. The right questions can trigger recollections previously forgotten.

These techniques, brought together in Heritage Associates, are beneficial to families, businesses, cities, religious organizations and others interested in remembering, disciphering or celebrating the past.

The essential skill of a historian is the ability to organize and communicate the collected information in an accessible and interesting form. This can result in diverse products such as books, brochures, articles, videos, reports, photography, exhibits, historical markers, memorials, visual timelines, lectures, seminars or events. The latest scanning, layout and printing equipment is used to produce coffee-table display books, booklets or reference books.

Do you need a historian? "Giving a future to our past" is our motto at Heritage Associates.

Heritage Associates: Genealogy

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Book of Births, Colmar France

Heritage Associates has helped scores of families and individuals put their legacy into historical context, underscoring how it was shaped and influenced by larger events.

Millions of people are engaged in The Roots Phenomenon. A person searches for his roots in order to find his own place in time; how the unique lives of his ancestors have affected his. Genealogy is more than just gathering names, dates and places. Serious family history is undertaken to put lives in context with events. Civil unrest, family scandals, job opportunities, health concerns, religious beliefs and other conditions have worked together to create a family's heritage. The stories are fascinating glimpses into true experiences.

Genealogy and public history are intrinsically linked. It is personal study using public historical domains: state genealogical and historical societies, national patriotic societies, such as the Sons/Daughters of the American Revolution, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, and cemetery or parish records. Heritage Associates will utilize available sources, and produce a book compiling stories, history, photos and images that will be a treasure to members of your family.

Heritage Associates: Contact Us

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Contact Information

Heritage Associates, LLC
11219 Oakmond Road
South Jordan, UT 84095
801.532.2561 - phone

email - wdh@heritageassociates.com

website - heritageassociates.com
blog - heritageassociates.blogspot.com

Located in Salt Lake City with easy access to the LDS Family History Library, Utah State Historical Archives, University of Utah and Brigham Young University.

Research Locations

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Marty in Cemetary, Hearts Content, New Foundland

Heritage Associates has proficiency in research on location. Even with modern technology local libraries and archives are often the only source for period maps, regional history, newspapers, property records and authentic photographs. Family and business documents, oral histories, letters and diaries have been discovered, adding important pieces to the puzzle of the past.

Dee and Marty Halverson have conducted research throughout the United States, Canada, the British Isles and Europe. Extensive fieldwork has been done in:

United States:
Brandywine, Pennsylvania
San Francisco, California;
Nauvoo, Illinois
New England
Ohio
Simpsonville, Kentucky
Las Vegas, Nevada
Idaho
Detroit, Michigan
Leadville, Colorado
Seattle, Washington
Washington, D.C.

Canada:
Newfoundland
Nova Scotia
Labrador
Toronto
Kingston
Ottawa
Ontario
Alberta

British Isles:
Lancashire
Yorkshire
Shropshire
Worchestershire
Herefordshire
London
South Wales
Isle of Man
Scotland

Europe:
Vienna, Austria
Salzburg, Austria
Tabor, Czech Republic
Krakow, Poland
Paris, France
Colmar, Alsace, France
Rhineland, Germany
Zurich, Switzerland
Interlaken, Switzerland