Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Governors: Herbert Brown Maw

HERBERT BROWN MAW
1893–1990


Herbert Brown Maw was born in Ogden, Utah in 1893. At age 11, he went to work to help support his family by selling newspapers on the streets of Salt Lake City and aluminum pans door to door. He also operated an ice cream stand at the Saltair Resort. While working, Maw continued to go to school, attending LDS High School and the University of Utah Law School. During World War I, he served as an LDS chaplain. Following the war, Maw earned a master’s and law degree from Northwestern University. When he returned to Salt Lake City, he taught political science and speech at the University of Utah. He served as Dean of Men at the University from 1928 to 1936.

In 1928 Maw was elected to the state Senate and served there for ten years, four of which he served as Senate President. He was elected governor in 1940, and quickly reorganized the Executive Branch creating fewer departments, which received bipartisan support from the Legislature. With World War II on the horizon, Maw worked hard to attract military installations and industries to Utah. Utah’s location made it ideal for many wartime facilities, which created thousands of jobs and energized Utah’s economy. Maw served his second term as governor during the transitional period from war to peacetime and supported legislation to help veterans return to civilian life and gain access to housing and education. He was particularly dedicated to improving highway systems so that Utah’s scenic attractions would be more accessible. After losing his bid for a third term, Maw retired to private law practice and maintained office hours well into his nineties, handling many pro bono cases for the poor.

ARTIST

Lee Greene Richards (1878–1950) was a well-known Utah artist who studied with J.T. Harwood and trained in France. In 1904, he received honorable mention at the Paris Salon, making him the first Utah painter to receive this honor. Richards’ artwork can be seen throughout the Capitol with murals in both the rotunda and Senate chamber as well as portraits of Utah governors Spry and Mabey.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Governors: Henry Hooper Blood

HENRY HOOPER BLOOD
1872–1942


Henry Hooper Blood was born in Kaysville, Utah in 1872. He worked at a variety of occupations including manager of Kaysville Milling Company. Blood’s public service career began when he was elected as city recorder of Kaysville in 1893. In 1922, Blood was appointed to the State Highway Commission and in 1925 was selected chairman. This position gave Blood administrative experience and introduced him to local officials all over the state, which helped him in his bid for governor in 1932.

Blood served two terms as governor during the Great Depression. Utah’s unemployment rate was 36 percent—the fourth highest in the nation—and in 1934 the state experienced the worst drought in Utah’s history. Blood’s approach to the state’s problems was to drastically cut state expenditures, implement a pay-as-you-go policy, and obtain federal relief dollars through New Deal programs. He was particularly successful in securing funds for Civil Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration projects, which included murals in the Capitol rotunda. He also worked hard for the construction of dams throughout the state, which provided both jobs and improved area water capacity. Despite his personal opposition to alcohol, Blood supported the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, making Utah the final state necessary for ratifying the 21st Amendment. He was the first governor to live in the Thomas Kearns mansion, which today still serves as the governor’s residence.

ARTIST
Gordon Nicholson Cope (1906–1999) spent much of his career in Utah, training with A.B. Wright and LeConte Stewart before going to Europe to study. He was the head of the art department at LDS University and a teacher for the Work Progress Administration. A gifted painter of both portraits and landscapes, Cope also worked on completing the murals in the Capitol’s rotunda.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Governors: George Henry Dern

The Utah State Capitol’s first floor will see changes in the upcoming weeks with the addition of biography plaques in the Hall of Governors. A biography plaque will hang next to each portrait of our Utah’s governors. We will be posting an example of what will be on the plaque every day. Stay tuned to read about your favorite Governor!

GEORGE HENRY DERN
1872–1936

George Henry Dern was born in Nebraska in 1872 and came to Utah at age 22. He co-invented the Holt-Dern ore roasting process and worked for the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling Company and other local mining companies. Despite being a non-Mormon and a Democrat, Dern was successful in politics. He was elected to the state Senate in 1914, and his election as governor in 1924 made him the only Democrat elected to a statewide office.

Governor Dern was a progressive politician, with accomplishments including requiring teachers to have a teaching certificate and revising tax laws so that they favored middle and lower-income groups. He also secured federal funds for road construction and other programs. Dern declined to run for a third term in 1932 and promoted Henry Blood as his successor.

Dern became the first Utahn to hold a position in a presidential cabinet when President Franklin D. Roosevelt named him Secretary of War, despite Dern’s lack of military experience. He oversaw the enlarging and motorizing of the nation’s military in its preparation for World War II and the creating of the Civil Conservation Corps.

ARTIST

John Willard “Will” Clawson (1858–1936) was a nationally known portrait painter. He studied locally with George Ottinger and in Europe with Impressionist masters Edouard Manet and Claude Monet. Clawson painted the portraits of many society figures of his day, including a portrait of his grandfather Brigham Young and three other Utah governors: Wells, Cutler, and Bamberger.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Governors: Charles Rendell Mabey

CHARLES RENDELL MABEY
1877–1959
Charles Rendell Mabey was born in Bountiful, Utah in 1877. He attended the University of Utah and worked for ten years as a teacher and administrator. Mabey served in the Utah National Guard during the Spanish-American War and received a citation for gallantry.

Mabey began his political career as a justice of the peace and later served as city councilman and mayor of Bountiful. He also served two terms in the state Legislature. When WWI began, Mabey served again with the Utah National Guard.

In the gubernatorial race of 1920, Mabey campaigned vigorously, promising development of the state’s resources and economy in state administration. As governor he quickly began his plan to streamline state administration, which was very successful—the administration costs decreased nearly $170,000 in one fiscal year. Upgrading the quality of public education was important to Mabey, and under his encouragement, the Legislature increased education funding to the entire state. The state saw the construction of nearly 500 miles of new roads during Mabey’s leadership.

ARTIST

Lee Greene Richards (1878–1950) was a well-known Utah artist who studied with J.T. Harwood and trained in France. In 1904, he received honorable mention at the Paris Salon, making him the first Utah painter to receive this honor. Richards’ artwork can be seen throughout the Capitol with murals in both the rotunda and Senate chamber as well as portraits of Utah governors Spry and Maw.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Governors: Simon Bamberger

SIMON BAMBERGER
1846–1926
In 1916 Utah voters elected Governor Simon Bamberger, a Jewish Democrat, making him the second Jewish governor in the nation. Bamberger was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany and immigrated to the United States at the beginning of the Civil War. He later became involved in the mining and railroad industries. Bamberger opened Lagoon, a local amusement park, in 1896 as a stop on his railway between Salt Lake City and Ogden.

Bamberger’s career in public service included serving on the Salt Lake City Board of Education and in the state Senate. Bamberger had a reputation as a philanthropist who bought flour and coal for those in need and offered free days at Lagoon for disadvantaged groups. He was publicly supported by prominent citizens when he announced his intention to run for governor in 1916.

Bamberger ran on a very progressive ticket, and he fully supported Prohibition, which was considered part of the progressive movement. In his message to the Legislature in 1917, Bamberger urged strict economy and more efficient government. By the time he left office three years later (declining to run for a second term), the state’s budget deficit of nearly half a million dollars had been eliminated.

ARTIST

John Willard “Will” Clawson (1858–1936) was a nationally known portrait painter. He studied locally with George Ottinger and in Europe with Impressionist masters Edouard Manet and Claude Monet. Clawson painted the portraits of many society figures of his day, including a portrait of his grandfather Brigham Young and three other Utah governors: Wells, Cutler, and Dern.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Governors: William Spry

WILLIAM SPRY
1864–1929

William Spry was born in England and came to Utah in 1875 when his family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Spry lived in Tooele County and worked at a variety of jobs until he found his place in politics. He served as the tax collector for Tooele County and later as a representative in the state Legislature. An important member of Senator Reed Smoot’s “Federal Bunch,” Spry secured the nomination for governor in 1908 and was elected.

Spry emphasized to the Legislature the need for a state capitol. At first denied, the project was able to go forward in 1911 when the estate of multimillionaire Edward H. Harriman was settled and the state received $798,546 in inheritance taxes. Spry appointed a Capitol Commission to oversee the project, and the Capitol was officially dedicated on October 9, 1916.

Spry’s second term was marked by controversy. Swedish immigrant and Industrial Workers of the World songwriter Joe Hill, was convicted of murdering two Salt Lake City men despite circumstantial evidence and was sentenced to death. Spry received appeals from all over the world, including a plea from U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, to give Hill a new trial. He refused—a stance that resulted in the Spry family receiving numerous death threats. Spry ran for a third term in 1916 but lost the Republican nomination.

ARTIST

Lee Greene Richards (1878–1950) was a well-known Utah artist who studied with J.T. Harwood and trained in France. In 1904, he received honorable mention at the Paris Salon, making him the first Utah painter to receive this honor. Richards’ artwork can be seen throughout the Capitol—murals in the rotunda and Senate chamber as well as portraits of Utah governors Mabey and Maw.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Governors: John C. Cutler

JOHN CHRISTOPHER CUTLER
1846–1928

John Christopher Cutler was born in Sheffield, England and immigrated to Utah in 1864 when his family converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He became a businessman in Utah and worked for many local companies and banks. Cutler secured the GOP nomination for governor and won the 1904 election with the support of the Federal Bunch—a powerful group of Republicans led by Senator Reed Smoot. In his inaugural address as the state’s second governor, Cutler promised to make “no great changes” in state government and to continue following successful policies.

Cutler’s contributions to the state included establishing a juvenile court system and creating a board to manage state parks. In 1907, Cutler proposed that the Legislature fund the construction of a state capitol building; the Legislature refused. The Legislature also denied Cutler’s request for an institution to care for handicapped individuals. Cutler lost favor with the Federal Bunch and withdrew from the 1908 election for governor in support of William Spry.

ARTIST

John Willard “Will” Clawson (1858–1936) was a nationally known portrait painter. He studied locally with George Ottinger and in Europe with Impressionist masters Edouard Manet and Claude Monet. Clawson painted the portraits of many society figures of his day, including a portrait of his grandfather Brigham Young and three other Utah governors: Wells, Bamberger, and Dern.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Coming Soon: Hall of Governor Plaques!

The Utah State Capitol’s first floor will see changes in the upcoming weeks with the addition of biography plaques in the Hall of Governors. A biography plaque will hang next to each portrait of our Utah’s governors. We will be posting an example of what will be on the plaque every day. Stay tuned to read about your favorite Governor!

HEBER MANNING WELLS
1859–1938
Heber Manning Wells was born in 1859 in Salt Lake City, Utah. While in his teens, Wells began his public service career as a tax collector for Salt Lake City. In 1882, he was appointed City Recorder to fill a vacancy and was elected for three additional terms, serving until 1890. He ran for Salt Lake City Mayor in 1892 but lost. Wells participated in Utah’s 1887 and 1895 constitutional conventions.

At age 36, Wells became Utah’s first (and youngest) governor when Utah achieved statehood on January 4, 1896. Operating from the City and County Building, Governor Wells tackled the job of organizing state courts and offices for the new state of Utah. He signed into law many bills, including Alice Merrill Horne’s bill; which created the State Institute of Art (now the Utah Arts Council), the first state-sponsored arts organization in the country. Wells served two terms as Utah’s governor and spent the rest of his career in various public offices, both for Salt Lake City and the federal government.

ARTIST

John Willard “Will” Clawson (1858–1936) was a nationally known portrait painter. He studied locally with George Ottinger and in Europe with Impressionist masters Edouard Manet and Claude Monet. Clawson painted the portraits of many society figures of his day, including a portrait of his grandfather Brigham Young and three other Utah governors: Cutler, Bamberger, and Dern.