Every rural person and place has a story. Change is part of that story.
“Rural Utah at a Crossroads” is part of the Smithsonian traveling exhibit Crossroads: Change in Rural America, which explores the changing meaning of rural life and identity. Utah Humanities is touring Crossroads to eight rural communities across Utah in 2024. As part of the tour, Utah Humanities and Utah Public Radio are partnering with exhibition hosts to interview local residents about change in their communities.
This interview took place at the Wasatch County Library in Heber City, Utah.
Kathryn Berg: My name is Kathryn Berg, and I was born and raised in Heber.
All my life, I've lived in rural Utah. I started teaching at Richfield High School, and I was the physical education teacher, and I taught there for two years. And then I moved to Orem, Alpine School District. I loved that district. I taught at Orem Junior High for seven years, and then I went to Cedar City and became associated with Southern Utah University, and I was there for 33 years. And there I was a coach. I coached everything because that's when everything started for women.
And then I was — from the beginning, I was over women's athletics, and later on, I became the Associate Director of Athletics over all sports, except I never was over men's basketball. It was hard for the football coaches to have me kind of in charge and directing them occasionally, but I had great opportunities. The last sport that I coached was women's gymnastics, but I had the opportunity to coach basically everything in the women's program.
There weren't very many — I don't even know the right word —concessions made for women to do anything. And in the beginning, the kids paid their way. We had one set of uniforms for team sports. We had one set of warm-ups. We practiced — in the beginning, I was the coach. I taught a full day. We'd start practicing one sport at six o'clock in the morning because there were usually two going a season. Then we'd begin our second practice after open recreation, which meant mainly men, at nine o'clock at night. So my days were pretty long.
Changing minds is tough. Money is slim, splitting money up so all can have the opportunity was really, really hard, but it happened, and it's better, but not complete yet. And it won't be in my lifetime, I'm sure, but it's about 900% better. It's just as meaningful and as important for them as it is for the young boys, absolutely is. It gives them opportunities to develop skills; to develop social skills, to develop leadership skills, to develop skills that will help them in their careers.
I have had the opportunity, not so much in Richfield, I was just 21, but everywhere else I have taught, I've had the opportunity to work in city or county government as on a committee or being actively engaged in something. So to be able to participate and to see change and to have a say on even a limited basis on how some of that change was coming about has been a great thing, and I'm grateful for that.
I'm really an optimistic person, thinking that things will come along and things will change, things will be good because this is such a beautiful place. People here are beautiful. We've had a surge of people moving in, and a lot of times people moving in bring things with them, both good and not so good, and that brings enrichment. So we don't want to lose that, but we want to maintain who we are.
I hope we continue to grow in love and congeniality and services that will bless and strengthen people and be a place for people who want to come to recreate because it is a recreation-tourist place now. But that we do those things with, just with, I don't know whether you call it panache or what, but just do it well. I really hope that.
“Rural Utah at a Crossroads” is a collaboration between Utah Public Radio, Utah Humanities, and the community hosts of Crossroads: Change in Rural America, a Smithsonian Museum on Main Street exhibition made possible in the Beehive State by Utah Humanities.
Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.
