USU Exhibit Spotlights the Growth and Development of Media in Cache Valley
Special Collections and Archives, a division of University Libraries at Utah State University, has developed an exhibit that spotlights the growth and development of media in Cache Valley.
The exhibit, “The Broadcasting Bullens: One Family’s Contribution to Cache Valley Newspaper, Radio and Television,” opens Tuesday, Sept. 2, in the atrium of the Merrill-Cazier Library on the Utah State University Logan campus and continues through Oct. 15. The exhibit is curated by USU’s Special Collections staff, with USU history major Elisabeth Cropper, whose proposal for the exhibit recently earned her a scholarship from the Cache Valley Historical Society.
Cropper’s involvement is an example of the hands-on experience and opportunities offered to many of USU’s undergraduate students. A history professor, Susan Cogen, suggested that Cropper approach Special Collections and Archives about a possible internship, and before she knew it, she was working as the student assistant to SCA’s manuscript curator Clint Pumphrey. Among her early assignments was organizing the 20-30 boxes of the Bullen family papers. She spent the next nine months organizing the papers that included material from three generations of Bullen men, Herschel, Reed and Jonathan, who had been involved in the communication field in Cache Valley. Their careers ranged from newspapers to radio to cable television, as well as extensive church and civic involvement.
From Cropper’s work, the seeds of the exhibit emerged.
Originally, plans called for a small display on the basement level of Merrill-Cazier Library, but with the scope of the Bullen papers, plans changed and a larger exhibit was scheduled for the library’s main-floor atrium and Cropper was to be the curator.
“This has been a huge learning experience for me,” she said. “I’ve been able to work with a number of the library’s professionals, and I couldn’t have done this by myself. I’ve received valuable advice and support from Clint Pumphrey, Rose Milovich, Cullen Duncan and others.”
The exhibit includes a timeline and patrons can see how technology has changed over the years, Cropper said. There are examples of the Logan Republic, the newspaper established by Herschel Bullen, photos from the Reed Bullen’s radio work with KVNU as well as images from the Cable Company, later headed by Jonathan Bullen.
The Bullen family, which settled in Richmond in the 1860s, figured prominently in Cache Valley business and politics through much of the twentieth century. Through the examination of three generations of Bullens, the exhibit offers a peek into the pre-Internet media age, including newspaper, radio and television communications, and illustrates the significant progress that has been made in local print and broadcast media.
Materials for the exhibit include items from manuscript and photograph collections donated to Special Collections and Archives by the Bullen family. The Bullen Collection can be viewed by request in the lower level of the Merrill-Cazier Library at Special Collections and Archives from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during Special Collections’ business hours.
“The Broadcasting Bullens: One Family’s Contribution to Cache Valley Newspaper, Radio and Television” is free and open to the public during Merrill-Cazier Library hours.
Related links:
USU Special Collections and Archives
Contact: Clint Pumphrey, (435) 797-0891, clint.pumphrey@usu.edu
Writer: Pamela Martin, (435) 797-2685, pamela.martin@usu.edu
Writer: Patrick Williams, (435) 797-1354, patrick.williams@usu.edu
Herschel Bullen (standing) and his son, Reed, at the KVNU radio station in Logan, c.1945.
The Cable Company staff filming an Aggie football game, 1983.
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