Me and the Bluebird

On our last business trip to Utah we made it as far north as Logan. While Glen dined with a client, I dined solo at The Bluebird. As I sat talking and pondering with myself while I ate one of their gigantic dinner rolls, the realization came that I had last eaten at The Bluebird almost exactly 35 years ago!

The Fall after my marriage I was doing my internship at Utah Power and Light as part of my BYU course of study. Each day I would ride to downtown Salt Lake City (part of a car pool in which I paid for gas but got to sit in back and crochet an afghan as we waited in rush hour traffic) to the office, test kitchen, and auditorium of the Home Economists employed by Utah Power and Light. We tested recipes for inclusion in a recipe and tips pamphlet included in customers' monthly bills, prepared for and gave demonstrations in the auditorium, answered customer's questions on the telephone, and traveled to high schools to give demonstrations in home economics classes. (By far the scariest of the duties!) This meant travel to far away places such as Price and yes, Logan!

Logan Temple

Such excursions sometimes required overnight stays. While in Logan, my mentor took me to eat at The Bluebird which is a historical space. It includes a ballroom on the third floor, banquet rooms on the second, and a soda fountain and dining space on the main floor. During this visit, I saw a bride posing for pictures on the stairway with its beautiful carved banisters.

To give you some perspective on the difference 35 years can make, the electrical appliance that we were demonstrating in high school home economics classes across Utah was the microwave oven! We carried one with us, demonstrated and talked about how it worked and its merits and then let each student prepare a s'more in the microwave. It was pretty heady stuff!

Interestingly, it was also the year when home ec had become coed in Utah for the first time. Boys were now allowed to take home ec as an elective. High schools in the Salt Lake area were full of cocky boys with many questions and smirky smiles. The Logan boys, but especially the Preston, Idaho farm boys, were shy and quiet and looked at the floor. They almost seemed embarrassed by that microwave. However, I don't remember any boys turning down a s'more!