Patricia Nelson Limerick presents “Hair-Raising Tales from the Department of the Interior: A Report from the Front Lines of the Battle Against Boredom” on Thursday, September 29, 2016, 7 p.m. at the Logan LDS Tabernacle
Contrary to the stereotype of the boring bureaucrat, the stories of the men and women who have worked for the agencies of the Department of the Interior carry intrinsic interest and give rise to thought-provoking interpretations of and insights into the American West’s past and present. Enormously important in the shaping of the American West, federal employees have been unjustly and inaccurately classified as “boring.” Formed just as the United States completed its coast-to-coast conquest of contiguous land, Interior became the pivot point for the nation’s attempts to absorb and manage the West’s peoples and lands. In this talk, Patty Limerick will make the case for directing more sustained and robust attention to the roles of federal clerks, surveyors, engineers, superintendents, agents, rangers, teachers, inspectors, and scientists in shaping the region.