Louise Degn papers - Archives West

Louise Degn papers, 1946-2015

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Degn, Louise
Title: Louise Degn papers
Dates: 1946-2015 (inclusive)
19462015
Quantity: 15.25 linear feet, (33 boxes)
Collection Number: ACCN 2149
Summary: The Louise Degn papers (1946-2015) consist of personal and professional correspondence, journals, sheet music, newspaper clippings, and various materials such as scripts and researchfrom her work as a reporter for KSL and a professor at the University of Utah. The collection also includes documents and internal KSL correspondence concerning to the controversial program "Mormon Women and Depression," which almost did not air.
Repository: University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860

Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu
Access Restrictions: Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Languages: English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Louise Degn was born in Logan, Utah on May 25th, 1946. She attended Ogden High School, graduated from Utah State University, and later received a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. She worked for several years at KSL, a local news station, as the only woman broadcast news reporter in Utah. During her career as a television reporter, she produced the program "Mormon Women and Depression" for Dimension Five despite intense pressure against it from the LDS church. For this and other programs she produced, she won several awards praising her perspective on the lives of Utah women. In 1990, she began teaching at the University of Utah Communication Department where she produced a program on women's suffrage in the western United States, "Let the Women Vote!" Louise served a LDS mission at the Australia-Brisbane Mission in 1973; however, after the 1993 LDS Purges she helped run a small nondenominational religious group called "Sunday Gatherings." Throughout her life, she played and composed music, and performances of her compositions are maintained on her website. Despite her worsening physical condition later in her life, she continued to conduct for her local ward's choir until her death on May 8th, 2015.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Louise Degn papers (1946-2015) consist of personal and professional correspondence, journals, sheet music, newspaper clippings, and various materials such as scripts and research related from work as a reporter for KSL and a professor at the University of Utah. The collection also includes documents and internal KSL correspondence concerning to the controversial program "Mormon Women and Depression," which almost did not air.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library's Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Preferred Citation

Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Box 1 was donated in 2005 (0.25 linear feet).

Box 2 was donated in 2006 (0.5 linear feet).

Boxes 3-5 were donated in 2007 (1.5 linear feet).

Boxes 6-33 were donated in 2016 (13 linear feet).

Processing Note

Processed by Roger V. Paxton, Samuel J. Passey, and Elizabeth Rogers in 2005-2006 and 2007.

Addendum processed by Sean Taylor in 2016.

Addendum processed by Kristina Barksdale in 2024.

Click here to read a statement on harmful language in library records.

Separated Materials

See also the Louise Degn broadcast journalism audio-visual collection (A0747) and the Louise Degn photograph collection (P1160) in the Multimedia Division of Special Collections.

Related Materials

Forms part of the Aileen H. Clyde 20th Century Women's Legacy Archives.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

General materialsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
1	1	Summary
1	2	" Desert Pack" documentary	1970
1	3	" In Whose Land" documentary	1970
1	4	" Coalville Tabernacle"	1971
1	5-8	News Story Scripts	1969-1971

Broadcast news materialsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
2	1	Acoustics in Symphony Hall
2	2	Allred Slaying, LeBaron family research, Defense for Continued Polygamy
2	3	Broadcast news script archive This folder contains and index of Degn's news stories done on assignment for KSL Television in Salt Lake City. The index lists story, air-date, an index terms for each story. The scripts mentioned in this index are contained in folders 4-8.	1976-1978
2	4-5	News script archive	1976-1978
3		Dimension Five, program scripts	1977-1980

Mormon Women and Depression , 1978-1979Return to Top

This series contains the research, notes, scripts, and correspondence about the controversial documentary Mormon Women and Depression.

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
4	1	Transcripts and interview notes	1979
4	2	Scripts	1979
4	3	Notes on the controversy	1978-1979
4	4-5	Correspondence	1979
4	6	Articles in the news media	1979

Miscellaneous program documentsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
5	1	Articles on depression	1973-1979
5	2	International Women's Year	1977
5	3	Anthon, transcript story	1980
5	4	Bedroom births	1979
5	5	Building Inside a Building	1978
5	6	Juanita Brooks-Utah Historian	1979
5	7	Lorenzo Hill Hatch-Pioneer Bishop of Franklin	1979
5	8	Mormon History Association	1980

Life records and journalsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
6	1	Birth certificate	1946
6	2	Excerpts and notes on books
6	3	Note, Iris Degn
6	4	Journal	1972
6	5	Journal	1973
6	6	Notes, church lessons	1974
6	7	Journal Retrospective on Gary Gilmore and exploration of her faith and career.	1976-1978
6	8	Notes, religion	1978-1980
6	9	Notes, death of Iris Degn	1993
6	10	Notebooks, music and sunday gatherings	1993-2002
6	11	Notes, Mormon history in Europe	2000
6	12	Notebooks, contacts and finances	2005
6	13	Notes, to read	2005
6	14	Notes, music and performing	2011
6	15	Notebook, physics of audio	2011
6	16	Memo notebooks	2012-2013
6	17	Notes, miscellaneous	2014
6	18	List of life events	2014
7	1	Planners	1975-1987
7	2	Calendar	1997
7	3	Planners	2014-2015

CorrespondenceReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box
8		Correspondence with friends and family	1972-2014
	Folder
9	1	Notes, Susan	1980
9	2	Family	1966-1977
9	3-6	Personal	1968-2015
9	7	Contacts, former students	1992-2005
9	8-10	Former students	1993-2012

Correspondence, documentaries and televisionReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
10	1	William Munns	1971
10	2	WCCO rejection	1971
10	3	Awards and thanks at KSL	1976-1977
10	4	KSL memos	1976-1979
10	5	KSL feedback	1976-1989
10	6	KSL	1976-1991
10	7	Reactions to "Mormon Women and Depression"	1979
10	8	Original cancellation of "Mormon Women and Depression"	1979
10	9	Mental health, education, and other professionals	1979
10	10	Internal memos regarding "Mormon Women and Depression"	1979
10	11	Personal stories	1979
10	12	KSL employment	1979-1983
10	13	Emily Lovering, "This Old House"	1980-1981
10	14	Jay Lloyd, IRIS award	1981
10	15	Ballet West	1982
10	16	KSL, personal	1983-1989
10	17	KSL policies	1983-1990
10	18	J. Spencer Kinard	1983-1991
10	19	Redwood Records	1985-1992
10	20	Ratings	1986-1988
10	21	Karen Merry, Paradigm distribution and promotion	1987-1989
10	22	"Lowell Bennion: A Life That Matters"	1992
10	23	"Utah Women Considered"	1995-1998
10	24	"Let the Women Vote!"	1998
10	25	McMurray, McMurray, Dale and Parkinson	1998

Correspondence, University of UtahReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
11	1	Chase Peterson	1990-1991
11	2	James Anderson	1990-1995
11	3	Application	1991
11	4	Fred Esplin	1997
11	5	Connie Bullis	1997-2001
11	6	J. Bernard Machen	1998-2000
11	7	David Ianucci	1999-2000
11	8	Patricia Hanna	2001
11	9	KUER	2001
11	10	Cards	2001-2012
11	11	Robert Newman	2002-2008
11	12	Ann Darling	2003-2008
11	13	David Pershing	2012

Correspondence, LDS Church, music, and miscellaneousReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
12	1	American Field Service Americans Abroad parent letter	1962
12	2	Laurence Burton	1965
12	3	Church use	1979
12	4	Ralph O. Bradley	1980
12	5	Newsweek	1980
12	6	Thomas Monson	1985
12	7	Thank yous for music	1989-2014
12	8	College admissions	1990
12	9	Rejections of music	1990-2000
12	10	The Olive Branch	1993
12	11	Lavina Fielding Anderson	1993
12	12	LDS Church	1995-2014
12	13	Composers Guild contest entries	1997-2001
12	14	Val Taylor, School of Natural Order	2000
12	15	Anya Silverman, Crones Council	2001
12	16	Donations to Utah State University	2005-2012
12	17	William Mathieu	2012-2014
12	18	Social Security	2014

Australia-Brisbane Mission and LDS ChurchReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
13	1-2	Correspondence, family	1973-1975
13	3	Correspondence, Barbara York	1975-1985
14	1-2	Journal, Australia-Brisbane Mission	1973-1975
14	3	Australia East Mission missionary handbook	1973
14	4	Speech, Ogden 43rd Ward	1973
14	5	Australia-Brisbane Mission personal goal record book	1974-1975
14	6	Sketches of Australia and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints	1975
14	7	Temple recommends	1976-1981
14	8	Programs, various Wards	1995-2014
14	9	Speeches, Foothill 7th Ward	1996-2008
14	10	Announcements, Foothill 7th Ward	2007-2011
14	11	Programs, Foothill 7th Ward Events	2011-2013

Sunday gatheringsReturn to Top

Nondenominational religious gathering organized by Louise and her friends.

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
15	1	Religious documents and articles	1974-1980
15	2	LDS doctrine	1977-2013
15	3	Contacts	1992-1994
15	4	Flyers	1993-1995
15	5	Organizational documents Includes retrospective on the end of the gatherings.	1993-1999
15	6	Programs	1993-2000
15	7	Speech	1994

MusicReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
16	1-3	Music manuscript books	1977-2011
16	4	"Compositions by Louise"
16	5	"Thinking of You"	1986
16	6	"Rain Trilogy"	1988-1989
16	7	"The Call to Serve in Joy and Sorrow Forever"	1989
16	8	"Animal Suite"	1990-1994
16	9	"Hymn"	1991-1992
16	10	"Waiting for the Child"	1991-2000
16	11	"Come to the Temple"	1992
17	1	"Niece Piece"	1992
17	2	"Don't Cry"	1992-2012
17	3	"The Meadow"	1994
17	4	"Millennial Light"	2000
17	5	"Teach Me"	2001
17	6	"Medley of Hymns Composed by Women"	2003
17	7	Various compositions by Louise "The Holy Spirit Guides Me," "Lace," "Just Friends," "Easy to Talk to," "Leaving," "Renewal," and "Sorrow."	2013
17	8	Album notes	1993-1998
17	9	Awards, composition competitions	1998-2012
17	10	Sheet music	2011

Documentaries and newsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
18	1	Business cards
18	2	"TV Guide" listings	1970-1980
18	3	Scripts, documentaries "Desert Pack" and "In Whose Land."	1970
18	4	Coalville Tabernacle story retrospective	1971
18	5	Scripts, WBBM Radio	1972-1973
18	6	KSL personnel directories	1975-1978
18	7	Script, CBS Afternoon News	1976
18	8	Research, depression	1976-1983
18	9	Research, crickets, seagulls, and sun tunnels	1976-2008
18	10	Finances, KSL	1977-1980
18	11-12	Research, International Women's Year and the Equal Rights Amendment	1977
18	13	Media event passes	1977-1982
18	14	Postmortems, KSL	1977
18	15	Scripts, Dimension 5 Includes supplemental material and research.	1977-1979
18	16	Transcripts, "Mormon Women and Depression"	1978
18	17	Scripts, "Mormon Women and Depression"	1979
18	18	Evaluations, "Mormon Women and Depression"	1979
18	19	Publicity, "Mormon Women and Depression"	1979
18	20	Research, home births	1979
19	1	Scripts, Dimension 5	1979-1980
19	2	Application, KSL archivist	1980
19	3	Research, Sonia Johnson	1980-1987
19	4	Research, Anton transcript	1980-2002
19	5	Research, Mark Hoffman	1986-2011
19	6	Contacts, KSL	1987-1990
19	7	Ratings	1988-1997
19	8	Programs, KSL events	1988-2012
19	9	Policy questionnaire, Bonneville International Corporation	1989
19	10	The Killing of KSL	1989
19	11	KSL performance appraisal form	1990
19	12	Contacts, Lowell Bennion documentary
19	13	Research, Lowell Bennion documentary	1992
19	14	Script, Lowell Bennion documentary	1992
19	15	Articles and publicity	1992-1997
19	16	Contacts, "Education: Parental Guidance Required"	1993
19	17	Script, "Education: Parental Guidance Required"	1993
19	18	Articles and publicity, "Education: Parental Guidance Required"	1994
19	19	Notes	1994
19	20	Participant release forms, "Utah Women Considered"	1994-1995
19	21	Script, "Utah Women Considered"	1995
19	22	John Armstrong, "Arch Madsen and the Rise of Bonneville International Corporation"	1996
20	1	Contacts, women's suffrage	1996
20	2	Pamphlets, women's suffrage	1996
20	3	Songs, women's suffrage	1996
20	4	References, women's suffrage	1996
20	5	Contracts, women's suffrage documentary
20	6	Research, women's suffrage	1997
20	7	Script, "Let the Women Vote!"	1997
20	8	Articles and publicity, "Let the Women Vote!"	1997-1998
20	9	VHS cover, "Let the Women Vote!"	1998
20	10	Programming Schedules, "Let the Women Vote!"	1999
20	11	Proposal, "Changing Lives: Women of the 20th Century"	1999
20	12	Public Radio Environment: Strategic Planning and Audience Research	1999
20	13	Pamphlets and newsletters, School of Natural Order	1999-2000
20	14	Research, School of Natural Order	1999-2000
20	15	Transcripts, School of Natural Order mini-discs	2000
20	16	Transcripts, spiritual directors interviews	2000
21	1	Scripts, TV stories	2002-2003
21	2	Documents, KUER	2004
21	3	Hard at Work: Women in the Utah Labor Force	2012
21	4	Research, Juanita Brooks

Redwood Records and Holly NearReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
22	1	Retrospective, "Lost Love" and Holly Near Reflection on sexuality, religion, and politics.	1985
22	2	Publicity, Redwood Records and Holly Near	1986-1989

University of UtahReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
23	1	Curricula vitae and merit reviews	1971-2002
23	2	Promotion, review, and tenure	1991-2003
23	3	Finances	1991-2004
23	4	Tenure review	1997
23	5	Faculty sabbaticals	2001
23	6	Programs, U of U events	2003-2012
23	7	Post tenure review	2008
23	8	College of Humanities convocation	2012
23	9	Appointment as Associate Professor Emerita of Communication	2012

High school and collegeReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
24	1	High school assignments	1961
24	2	School notes, writing	1961
24	3	School notes, parliamentary procedures	1962
24	4	Speeches	1962-1964
24	5	Programs, Ogden High School events	1962-1964
24	6	School notes, American values	1963
24	7	Senate Youth Program qualifying exam	1963
24	8	Graded assignments	1964-1969
24	9	"Literary Harvest"	1964
24	10	"The Liar of Alpha Chi Omega"	1965-1968
24	11	"Senior Song: Beta Xi Chapter of Alpha Chi Omega"	1967
24	12	Programs, Utah State University events	1967-1968
24	13	Personality and vocational tests	1979-1996
24	14	LSAT answers and grades	1989
24	15	Reference letter	1990
24	16	Personal statement, Stanford Law School	1990
24	17	Business and Social Science Senator Card

Events, presentations, and performancesReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
25	1	Programs, Frederic Dixon piano recitals featuring Louise	1958-1963
25	2	Flyers, Degn Bowl	1979
25	3	Programs and flyers, performances by and events with Louise	1992-2014
25	4	Flyers and programs	1992-2011
25	5	Audience 98: Public Service, Public Support	1998
25	6-7	Summer Institute in the Human Services	1998
25	8	The Thirty-Fifth Annual Meeting of the Mormon History Association: Commemorating 150 Years of Mormonism in Continental Europe	2000

AwardsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
26	1	Mental Health Media Award for "Depression Among Women"	1979-1980
26	2	Various awards	1979-1984
26	3	Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards	1979-1988
26	4	Governor's Merit Award in the Humanities for "Utah Women Considered"	1996
26	5	American Women in Radio and Television Best of Show for "Utah Women Considered"	1996-2001
26	6	U of U Student Choice Award	1999-2004
26	7	Faculty Production Competition Radio Documentary for the School of Natural Order	2001

Articles and newspaper clippingsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
27	1	Obituaries	1981-2013
27	2	150th Wagon Train	1997
27	3	Business and organization	1995-2010
27	4	Comics, "Dilbert"	1994-2000
27	5	Comics, media	1993-1996
27	6	Community planning	1992-2008
27	7	Creativity	1988-1994
27	8	Financial security	1995-2014
27	9	Food	2003
27	10	Friends and family	1979-2011
27	11	Gardens and farms	1996-2011
27	12	High school	1963-1964
27	13	Home design	1988-2008
27	14	Horoscopes	1995
27	15	Human nature	1997-2013
27	16	KSL and news	1971-2012
27	17	LDS Church and politics	1974-2005
28	1	LDS excommunication and 1993 purge	1993-2013
28	2	Mormon history	1980-2014
28	3	Mormon life	1994
28	4	"Mormon Women and Depression"	1979-1980
28	5	Mormons and the Olympics	2002
28	6	Music and art	1998-2011
28	7	Music, career	1987-2005
28	8	Music, people	1987-2013
28	9	Music, types	1998-2005
28	10	Personal stories	1980-2004
28	11	Ratings	1987-1988
28	12-14	Religion and spirituality	1990-2008
29	1	Reporting from Israel	1970
29	2	Service	1992-2008
29	3	Television and news	1993-2012
29	4	Travel	1980-2005
29	5	Utahns	1995-2005
29	6	The Utes	1984-2000
29	7	Utah State University	1966-1968
29	8	Weight	1995-1998
29	9	Women	1997-2001
29	10	Miscellaneous	1981-2014

MiscellaneousReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
30	1	Childhood mementos
30	2	Congressional Record	1967
30	3	Susan Elizabeth Howe, poems and other writings	1977-1993
30	4	Poems by others	1991-1995
30	5	Spring City Historic District	1996
30	6	Trip itineraries	1996
30	7	Governor's Volunteer Summit	1997
30	8	Louise Degn, stories and writings	1997-2006
30	9	Interstate Road Atlas	2001
30	10	Contacts, Crone Counsel	2001
30	11	Programs, Crone Counsel events	2001
30	12	Information, Crone Counsel	2002
30	13	"Sunstone" gallery spotlight	2002
30	14	Louise's favorite thanksgiving dinner	2002
30	15	Ann Darling, "Lessons from Louise"	2012
30	16	Sketch, Louise playing piano	2013
30	17	Memorabilia, broadcasting
30	18	Commemorative stamps
30	19	Genealogy
30	20	Miscellaneous
30	21	Family history and certificates	1946; 1954; 1958-1962
31		Scrapbook	1952-1964
32		Painting, Volunteer Summit plaque, and KSL news poster	1977-1997
33		Signed KSL news poster

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Documentary television programs--Production and design--Utah
Documentary television programs--Utah
Latter Day Saint women missionaries--Australia--Archives
Latter Day Saint women--Attitudes
Religious gatherings--Utah
Sacred music--Specimens
Television broadcasting of news--Utah
Women television journalists--Utah--Archives
Women television producers and directors--Utah--Archives

Personal Names

Degn, Louise--Archives

Corporate Names

Dimension Five (Firm)--Archives
KSL (Television station: Salt Lake City, Utah)--Employees--Archives
University of Utah. Department of Communication--Faculty--Archives

Form or Genre Terms

Awards
Business correspondence
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Diaries
Interviews
Notated music
Personal correspondence
Programs (Publications)
Radio scripts
Research (Documents)
Scrapbooks
Screenplays
Speeches

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents