When the Utah Historical Society and the Utah State Archives and Records Service considered who could inaugurate this year s brown bag lecture series, only a few qualified people came to mind. They were happy to land someone who had already proven himself Weber State University Professor of Libraries John Sillito. John is a very fine speaker. He knows his stuff, said Pat Scott, Utah counties records analyst, adding that he also entertains and helps people understand the subject. Sillito, also a WSU archivist and curator of special collections, will introduce and outline the year s sessions tomorrow at noon in White Memorial Chapel, south of the Utah State Capitol.
All lectures are free to the public.
Among other things, Sillito will discuss what he calls colorful and dominating personalities in 20th century Utah politics. Sillito also did two engagements for the 1999 series, discussing in January the impact of socialism in early 20th century Utah and lecturing about controversial Utah labor organizer Joe Hill in November. Hill was executed in the early 1900s for murdering a Utah grocer, and his case has spawned serious debate. Pat Scott said the lectures are usually a calm learning environment, but that some sessions start to get heated. And John s session on Joe Hill was one of those, Scott recalled.