Dr. Ronald G. Watt of Carbon County was recently featured on the podcast hosted by Brad Westwood entitled “Speak Your Piece.”
Dr. Watt has numerous accomplishments under his belt, including authoring books such as “A History of Carbon County,” which was part of the Utah State’s Historical Society History Series, as well as “A History of Price.” He spent much of his professional life working for the LDS history department in Salt Lake City.
Dr. Watt’s most recent publication is “My Life in Carbon County in the 1950s.” This project began as a personal history, but his training as a historian pushed him to do more detail recollection so that it almost seems as if the readers were taken on a tour of Carbon County.
It was stated that Dr. Watt wished to write a history for his grandchildren, yet he did not want to write it chronologically, but geographically. He wanted the readers to know exactly where he was at a certain point and what he did at that place. Both in the publication and while on the podcast, Dr. Watt discussed the hardships of farming and ranch life.
With an aunt and uncle that owned a ranch in the southern part of Carbon County, as well as grandparents that lived on a farm right on the southern border of Carbon County, he had great experiences with this lifestyle. His grandparents grew alfalfa primarily and Dr. Watt remembers the alfalfa fields very well.
The cinderblock house that his grandparents resided in was a two-room house that had no electricity. They used oil lamps and a coal wood-burning stove to cook. There was also no running water in the home, but a cistern on the property for the animals.
Continuing, Dr. Watt spoke on mining, ranching, cattle, his many summer jobs, his dating life and more. The full podcast can be found here and those that wish to purchase Dr. Watt’s “My Life in Carbon County in the 1950s” may find it here.
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- Photos courtesy of the Utah Department of Heritage and Arts
