NOT FORGOTTEN: Stories of Utah's Dixie

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Latest Episodes:

S2 Episode 6: Mary Esther's Pine Valley Feb 17, 2025

Mary Esther Gardner Staheli Putnum is the first honoree of the Doc Booth Foundation. She grew up in the pastoral village of Pine Valley. In this episode she shares stories from the history of Pine Valley and from her childhood, bridging pioneer times with the modern-day community that has sprung up in this magnificent mountain setting.

*Our annual benefit dinner will be April 12, 2025 and we hope you can make it! This year we will be honoring Mary Esther Staheli Putnam and it will be a beautiful evening. Tickets and further information can be found at https://docboothfoundation.org/

S2 Episode 5: Gail Smith- Growing up in the town of Washington Feb 10, 2025

Gail Smith has lived and served all around the world. She and her late husband Hyrum Smith founded Franklin Quest which became Franklin Covey and their philanthropy has blessed southern Utah in countless ways. But Gail's beginnings were in the little town of Washington, within the orbit of Utah's Dixie and the gravitational pull of the Dixie Spirit, and there is no place else she'd rather be.

S2 Episode 4: A Visit With Lionel Hollins and Coach Doug Allred Feb 03, 2025

On January 16, 2025, more than 50 year after Lionel Hollins lit up the basketball court in the old Dixie College gym, Lyman sat down with the NBA champion, and with Dixie's legendary coach Doug Allred. The conversation that followed is one for the ages.

S2 Episode 3: Remembering Coach Walt Brooks Jan 27, 2025

Visiting with special guests Steve Snow, Denny Drake, and Warren Brooks, Lyman elicites stories about Walt Brooks, the legendary football coach and Spanish teacher at Dixie High School during the middle years of the Twentieth Century. Steve and Denny played on Walt's 1967 State Championship team, and Warren, Walt's grandson, is the current principal of Dixie High School.

S2 Episode 2: A Visit with President Jeffrey R. Holland- Part 2 Jan 21, 2025

President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, continues his visit with Lyman about his love for St. George and how his life here launched him on the path of his marvelous world-wide apostolic ministry.

His son, Elder Matthew S. Holland, shares how St. George is still beloved home ground for President Holland’s children and grandchildren.

S2 Episode 1: A Visit with President Jeffrey R. Holland- Part 1 Jan 13, 2025

President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, reminisces with Lyman about his boyhood and formative experiences growing up in the red sand of Utah’s Dixie. He shares intimate stories of the people, the place, and what the Dixie Spirit means to him.

Episode 12: First Christmas, They Danced Until Dawn Dec 09, 2024

It began to rain as St. George's first Latter-day Saint settlers gathered under a tent to celebrate Christmas. Rather than return to their soaked wagon boxes, they danced until dawn on the salt grass floor. The episode ends with the debut of a new song written exclusively for this podcast, "They Danced Until Dawn."

Original Song: "They Danced Until Dawn"

Music by: Ricky Valadez

Lyrics by: Lyman Hafen

Vocals by: Julie Valadez

Episode 11: Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains Dec 02, 2024

Lyman shares the story of John M. Macfarlane and the classic Christmas carol "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains." He joins in a a discussion with composer/arranger Ricky Valadez (who is also the producer of this podcast) about the creative process and how this beloved carol was born in the pioneer village of St. George, Utah, and is now sung around the world. The episode conlcudes with a new arrangment of the song created exclusively for the NOT FORGOTTEN podcast and sung by 12-year-old Grace Valadez.

Episode 10: Homeground Oct 28, 2024

Through his essay “Where All Our Scattered Forces Might Gather,” Lyman considers the idea of having a sense of place, and what it means to really belong to a place… how special places and the stories that go with them are at the heart of the Dixie Spirit.

Episode 9: D is for Diversity Oct 21, 2024

A tongue-in-cheek look back at the story Lyman Hafen and Donna Leavitt Gentry wrote 40 years ago about “Speech Dixie Style,” and how all the diversity of voices of the settlers who came to live in southern Utah in the 1850s and 60s (English, Welsh, Scottish, Scandinavian, Swiss, Canadian, East Coast, Southern States) contributed to the way we sound today.

Episode 8: Judd's Store Oct 14, 2024

The story of Judd’s Store from Lyman’s writings, along with interviews with Lisa Whitehead Shaw, Donna Leavitt Gentry, Kevin Willard, and Randy Judd... each remembering from their own perspective what the store meant and still means to them.

Episode 7: St. George's Greatest Tragedy Oct 07, 2024

The story of an oil well explosion south of town that killed ten people, many of whom were innocent bystanders who had come to celebrate the opening of the well on a March evening in 1936. This would have to be considered St. George, Utah’s most tragic man-caused disaster. This episode includes the voice of Utah’s first poet laureate, David Lee, sharing the little-known story of an horrific event that rocked the town in the middle of the Great Depression.

Episode 6: The Sugar Loaf Sep 30, 2024

Lyman shares a story about the massive red rock that hovers over the northern part of St. George. Recent generations mistakenly call it the “Dixie Rock,” but for those who first settled this valley, and those who still know the stories, it was, and still is, lovingly known as the Sugar Loaf. Former St. George Mayor Dan McArthur joins Lyman in recalling special memories from this unique place overlooking the town.

Episode 5: The House on Tabernacle Street Sep 23, 2024

This episode highlights Lyman’s stories about his grandparents whose home is the only one still standing on Tabernacle Street between First and Second East. It includes a conversation with Lyman’s father Kelton Hafen, 92, who grew up in that house on that quintessential small-town American street during the Great Depression and World War Two.

Episode 4: They Were Here First Sep 16, 2024

Since "Time Immemorial" this has been, and continues to be, the homeland of the Southern Paiute. Through three inner related essays Lyman honors those who were here first and includes the beautiful voice of Karma Grayman of the Shivwits Band of the Southern Paiute.

Episode 3: Sun Bowl Sep 09, 2024

The 2024 Lion’s Dixie Roundup Rodeo marks the 90th year of this near-mythic community celebration in St. George, Utah. In this episode Lyman, and his guests Chad Drake, Sharlene Squire, and Doug Sorenson, take us back to 1934 and the founding of the rodeo and all its related community traditions, as well as the building of the Lion’s Dixie Sun Bowl in 1946. Everything about the Roundup exudes the Spirit of Dixie, and everything about it was near and dear to Doctor Craig Booth who treasured his boyhood memories full of the pageantry and joy of those September days.

Episode 2: Paradise Canyon Sep 02, 2024

Host Lyman Hafen digs deep into the meaning of “Home” by sharing his horseback memories in Paradise Canyon on the northern edge of St. George, Utah, and moving home after living for three years out of state. Guests Naghi and Louise “Tweet” Gardner Zeenati share intimate stories from their unique perspectives about what Utah’s Dixie means to them.

Episode 1: The Bulls Are Here Aug 29, 2024

Episode 1 sets the stage for this new podcast dedicated to telling the stories of Utah’s Dixie in the southwestern corner of the state. Writer and host Lyman Hafen shares the words he wrote soon after the passing of legendary St. George physician Craig Booth, and his interview with Craig's wife Maureen, and daughter Brittany. Doc Booth was a man of stories and compassion. His life’s story is one of the many that have made Utah’s Dixie what it is. And his compassion is at the heart of the elusive entity known to many as the Dixie Spirit.

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