Courtney MuseFollow

Date Collected

Fall 11-2017

Place item was collected

Draper, Utah

Informant

Michael Wayne Henry I

Point of Discovery/Informant Bio

Michael is a 46-year-old man, him and his wife are my parent’s best friends and neighbors but feel more like family. Michael grew up in San Antonio, Texas. He joined the Marine Corps when he graduated high school. He served for 6 years and is very proud of his country. Him and his wife, Lisa, converted to the LDS church 15 years ago. They have 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls. He coaches his children’s sports teams and now lives in Draper, Utah.

Context

I FaceTimed Michael to talk to him about this interview while I was at my apartment in Logan and he was at his house in Draper, Utah. He has never FaceTimed anyone before and was amazed at this technology and commented on why his kids never taught him these things. This folklore is done in Brigham City at Maddox and in Logan at the Ellen Eccles Theatre but is talked about all over Draper with the three families that are involved, especially with the planning of the next year’s concert and what they did and didn’t like about the concert we just went to and others that we have seen. Michael was home alone without any distractions when we spoke, which is unusual in the Henry household. Michael learned about this Christmas concert from a co-worker and would tell anyone about our tradition if they asked asked.

Text

Okay so, the tradition of going to see the concert in Logan, it started several years ago. I used to work for a company called Black Clover and there was girl that worked with me, her name was Courtney Bowen, she is from Logan and she sang in the choir and, she used to leave work in Salt Lake and drive up to Logan to practice for about a month and a half before so the concert. So she invited, you know, you and Lisa should come up, and see it. And so choirs really aren’t my thing [rolls his eyes] so I thought it would be super boring but she worked with me and I really liked her a lot she was a really good worker so, I thought well Lisa is always saying that I don’t take her anywhere so, I thought I’d be nice and you know just go check it out. We went up there and it was amazing. The place in Logan that we go, I can’t remember the name of it, but it’s the little music hall they have, it is super old and it’s right on Main Street and it’s been around for years. People who are from there always talk about what a piece of [thinking of the words] nostalgia that place is, you know, it has been around for years and years and years. So we went two years to go up and see her so then we told our friends the Jenkins about it and [short pause to think] said “Hey you guys should come up with us one year and then [voice raised in excitement] there is this steak house called Maddox Meats, it’s a restaurant and you can also go slaughter your meat there, get it processed and stuff and so we [stumbles over his words a little bit] started the tradition about going to the concert and going there and eating dinner and um, it was so much fun every time we went, we just had these amazing stories [starts laughing for a little bit thinking about some of the stories]. Every time we go it is an adventure, so over the years we have invited more kids to go, for example we take our kids now and the Jenkins take their kids now and we’ve even invited more groups, like this group the Rogerson’s, it has just gotten bigger and bigger and now it’s like 20 people who all get together and every year we buy tickets in September so we can make sure, because we found out one year the hard way that it will sell out if you don’t buy your tickets. So we drive up there and we go to the concert and we laugh and the uh concert just so gets you in the Christmas spirit and you know every year it’s different. One year they got these kids swinging their bells and singing all these songs just with all these bells, like the Salvation Army guy but super nice bells, not that cheesy and one year they had a kid do concerts like that and then this one year they had this violinist that was world famous and then they had Kurt Bestor last year who is just amazing on the piano, so every year it is different, every year it is amazing but the tradition of getting all these families together who just laugh and we have so much fun, we have so many stories from these trips that now the young kids come and it’s just a tradition we have been doing now for 6 years I think, and we are going again this year and it’s just awesome and one of our most favorite parts of the holiday season, driving up to Logan, eating in Brigham City then driving up to Logan for the concert.

Texture

I decided to interview Michael because even though my parents and siblings are included in this tradition now, Michael and Lisa were the first people to go and make this into a Christmas tradition for our families. He is very enthusiastic about the tradition and loves going every year. I especially like it because it is a time when my family comes to Logan rather than me going down to Draper. Michael started the interview by just chatting with me, telling me some stories about his kids so he was in a good mood when talking to me, especially because this year’s Christmas concert is coming up soon. He really enjoys this Christmas tradition so was happy when we were discussing what it is, he even said it is one of his favorite parts of Christmas.

Course

English 2210

Instructor

Dr. Lynne McNeill

Semester and year

Fall 2017

Theme

G1: Holidays

EAD Number

1.13.12.0.3

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