Arts and Culture

One Small Step: 'I Wasn't Able To Hold On To The Culture Of My Childhood'

Utah Public Radio | By Kirsten Swanson,

Published October 1, 2019 at 12:48 PM MDT

Clayton Long lives in Blanding Utah; Liz Ballenger lives in Moab. They met halfway in Monticello, finding common ground for their love of nature and juggling the different cultures introduced to them throughout their lives.

This conversation was recorded by Utah Public Radio in partnership with StoryCorps as a part of their One Small Step project. One Small Step programming is also made possible by AARP Utah, a non-partisan, social change organization with membership helping people 50 and over improve their lives by providing material, programs, and advocacy on key issues. More information is available at aarp.org.

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Kirsten Swanson

Kirsten grew up listening to Utah Public Radio in Smithfield, Utah and now resides in Logan. She has three children and is currently producing Utah StoryCorps and working as the Saturday morning host on UPR. Kirsten graduated from Utah State University with a Bachelor's degree History in 2000 and dual minors in Horticulture and German. She enjoys doing voice work, reading, writing, drawing, teaching children, and dancing. Major credits include StoryCorps, Utah Works, One Small Step, and the APTRA award-winning documentary Ride the Rails.

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Mary Heers

Mary got hooked on oral histories while visiting Ellis Island and hearing the recorded voices of immigrants that had passed through. StoryCorps drew her to UPR. After she retired from teaching at Preston High, she walked into the station and said she wanted to help. Kerry put her to work taking the best 3 minutes out of the 30 minute interviews recorded in Vernal. Passion kicked in. Mary went on to collect more and more stories and return them to the community on UPR's radio waves. Major credits to date: Utah Works, One Small Step, and the award winning documentary Ride the Rails.

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