Geography Paper

Joy Prior
Otterstrom
Geog 120
MWF @9-10:50
Historical Markers
It was the ideal class assignment for the week prior to the start of finals; as the sunlight kissed my rosy checks I thought how relaxing this assignment was. The assignment was to simply spend an afternoon exploring the historical sites of Provo. Even though I grew up in Utah Valley I have forgotten that off Brigham Young University campus there are people who are not cramming late into the night before a biology test, or high lightening their geology textbook. It was refreshing to see that people picking up craft supplies simply because they wanted to make something, and not to meet a due date, but what was more interesting was to see how the historical marker I visited were apart of the daily lives of hundreds. Simply looking at the historical buildings reminded me that history is not as the lifeless letters and pictures I find in my textbooks, but that particularly historical markers can become a contemporary part of people’s lives either through reconstruction, reflection, or by our daily activities.
A few months ago the Provo Tabernacle burned down, and this image reminded me that historical markers are significance to the living. Even with the summer colored breaks covered in an ash past, and the windows are filled with plywood the city values this building. In my art class someone started an art project centered on the Tabernacle; she asked us to write down our own memories and suite them to her collection. I was surprised with how many memories I have with this historical marker, and it caused me to think about why historical markers are considered historical markers. I believe that it has something to do with the citizens and the people not wanting their own memories to disappear. After a short debate it was decided to renovate the Provo Tabernacle. I believe the same as many members of Provo that by somehow preserving the tabernacle can maintain and create memories the building t is worth renovation.
There are other historical markers such as the cemetery that cause me to maintain a silent respect, but that did not mean that even this place was not changing. When I stopped at the cemetery I turned off my car radio; cemeteries are suppose to be silent. I walked down the assault roads under the shade of the towering trees. The branches loomed above the squared patterns of stones and statues. I wondered how odd I must seem; a lone girl in a jacket wondering around the cemetery with a camera around her neck. While I looked at the signs I realized that there was a funeral today, and as I watched the a gardener drive by I realized that even in at a historical marker I assumed was motionless there were still things changing. In a few hours there would be a new body in the cemetery.
When I looked at the darkened windows of the city office building I wondered why this would be considered a historical marker, because there seemed nothing historic about it. The parking lot was full of cars and trucks with hard water stains. Mothers were walking into the cleaned glass doors holding their child’s hand, and the maintenance man was changing the outdoor garbage bags. This historical marker seemed to filled with people, things, and movement to be associated with history. The building was old, but refurnished with modern paintings and coaches. I began to explore the idea that historical markers are not simply set locations that are sun bleached or rain washed, but can be apart of the daily rush of activities.
I have began to reevaluate my perception of a historical marker as I realize that through reconstruction, memories, and just daily activities historical markers are an active part of my life. When I had visited all eight of the historical markers I returned to my apartment and typed an essay for geography, designed my art project, took a statistic quiz, and wondered about historical markers in my current life. I never think this is a historical marker when I go to class in the Maser Building. Not once have I looked for a historical marker sign on the Provo Library when I walk by it on my way home from campus. These historical buildings are apart of my life, but they are also apart of another person’s life. Not simply the other hundreds of students who also walk by the Library, but these historical markers were apart of the lives of millions of previous students, teachers, and citizens of Provo. It was refreshing to think my life story is connected to hundreds because we share a historical marker.
  
Cemetery Veteran Mental hospital
  
Historic library (center street) Provo Tabernacle Back side of city office  
Pioneer park First national bank of Provo