The Smithfield Oral History Project contains 37 interviews with residents of Smithfield, Utah. The majority of interviews were conducted by Lawrence Cantwell. William "Robert" Thornley had the items digitized, transcribed, and printed by the Clark and Gladys Thornley Foundation. Transcriptions made possible by a generous grant from the Utah Humanities Council/ Utah State History.
Each item in this collection is bound and contains a typed interview transcription, a page containing credits for those who helped compile the interviews and transcriptions, a brief summary of each interview, a digital recording (CD) of the interview (.wav file), and a digital copy (CD) of the transcript (.wps file)
Utah State University. Merrill-Cazier Library. Special Collections and Archives
Lawrence Cantwell is a resident of Smithfield Utah. In the 1970s and 80s (and 1991), Mr. Cantwell undertook this project on behalf of the Smithfield Historical Heritage Society to document local citizens. These interviews were done on cassette tape and stored for a number of years in the Smithfield City offices
William "Robert" Thornley, director of the Clark and Gladys Thornley Foundation, early settlers of Smithfield, Utah, worked to get the interviews transcribed with funds from the Thornley Foundation and a grant from the Utah Humanities Council / Utah State History
The interviews in the Smithfield Oral History Project, conducted by Lawrence Cantwell, focus on the early history of Smithfield. Many of his participants clearly remember World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II. Most of these interviews characterize life in Smithfield and surrounding towns in the early 1900s. This collection provides a description of small town farm life during the Progressive Era
Items are arranged in alphabetical order according to the interviewee’s last name
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances
Permission to publish material from the Smithfield Oral History Project must be obtained from the Curator of the Fife Folklore Archives and/or the Special Collections Department Head
William "Robert" Thornley donated 37 oral histories (with transcripts) from the Smithfield Oral History Project. The interviews were done by Lawrence Cantwell with Smithfield, Utah residents. Mr. Thornley was given the tapes by Smithfield City and he had them transcribed and digitized. In June 2010, Mr. Thornley donated the collection to Utah State University Special Collections and Archives (Randy Williams and Brad Cole). The collection was processed in September 2011
Processed by Kristal Shegrud, September of 2011. Finding aid prepared by Kristal Shegrud, September 2011; updated by Randy Williams, April 2012
From USU Special Collections and Archives:
A Brief History of Three Canyons Rev. version 979.27 SM61-CA 1983
History of Smithfield folder, 1982. ITEM MSS 128
Four Generations of Cantwell Thoughts 929.2 C169-C
Smithfield City Council meetings record COLL MSS 238 NO. 77
Collecting MemoriesSmithfield diaries COLL MSS 34
Smithfield of Fort Days FILE MSS 453
Smithfield, Utah, Health Days, 1920s MEDIA COLL 1 NO. 31
Smithfield -- as a City on a Hill 979.27 SM68H
Smithfield community sewage system proposal study: a final analysis 979.297 SM56
Smithfield Livestock Auction: market report for Thursday 636.08 SM56
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