Today we note the passing and celebrate the life and work of a notable Mormon scholar, Charles S. “Chas” Peterson. Born in a small community on the Little Colorado River in Arizona, he echoed many other residents of small towns when he noted later about his childhood home, “I was both bored stiff with Snowflake and loved it profoundly.” Although it took him a while to discover his calling in life, he was a historian at heart. He remembered, “My fourth-grade teacher made a big deal about history but was always sore at me for sneaking [Earl Forrest’s account of the range wars, Arizona’s Dark and Bloody Ground] into my desk and lifting the lid a little and trying to read it during math.”
After service in World War II and a mission to Sweden, he earned his BA and MA degrees at BYU and his PhD at the University of Utah. He specialized in Mormon history and the study of resource management, a natural outgrowth of his early training in farming and ranching. He served as the President of the Mormon History Association from 1975–1976, helped found the Journal of Mormon History, served as director of the Utah State Historical Society, 1969–1971, and was editor of the Utah Historical Quarterly and Western Historical Quarterly.
Peterson wrote four books and numerous articles and chapters on Mormonism and the West. His book Take Up Your Mission: Mormon Colonizing Along the Little Colorado River, 1870–1900 is not only the definitive history of the settlement of the Little Colorado region, but also a great read.
For additional information about Peterson, see his obituary in the St. George News, and a Mormon Historical Studies interview by his son, John A. Peterson, the source of the quotes above. He speaks of his winding pathway into academics, the struggle between faith and intellectualism, those who influenced him to specialize in Western history, and the development of the professional historical community in Utah and the West.
I knew Chas Peterson before I knew what history was. He and my father were close childhood friends, engaging in the kinds of adventures that kept boys from trouble (or got them into it) in Snowflake, Arizona. I don’t know if Chas was with my dad when he greased the tracks of the old Apache Railway, or when the insulators on the power poles became targets for the .22 caliber rifle, but if he wasn’t I bet he wished he had been. He and my dad did work together one summer vacation–or at least for one day–trying to build a log cabin. They both spent a lot of time chopping wood for their kitchen stoves, and figured that chopping down a tree would come naturally. It didn’t, and they gave up in a hurry. Maybe that helped Chas gain greater appreciation for the pioneers who “took up their mission” in the Little Colorado country.
RIP, Prof. Peterson.
Thanks very much for this, Amy.
I met Charles at my first MHA meeting in St. George a few years ago. His research helped me with my first published article. He will be missed, and my thoughts go out to his family.