LOGAN – Local raconteur Ross Peterson will headline the storytelling when the popular “Light Switch Stories” resumes on Friday, June 27 at LionHeart Hall.
Peterson will be one of nine Cache Valley and northern Utah residents telling true stories about their lives starting at 7 p.m. that evening.
Peterson graduated from USU with a degree in History, then skipped a master’s program entirely to pursue a PhD in American Studies from Washington State University in 1968.
After teaching at the University of Texas at Arlington, he returned to USU in 1971 where he served as a professor of American history for thirty-three years.
The author of numerous books on the American West, Peterson is also noted for his deep passion for statistics and folklore about Major League Baseball.
He credits that fascination with baseball for sparking his interest in history and the civil rights movement thanks to the struggles of historic MLB figures like Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron.
The USU emeriti professor has also written an autobiography about his childhood in Montpelier, ID, which has been adapted for the stage by the Lyric Repertory Company and will be preformed in late July.
The overall theme of the “Light Switch Stories” gathering on June 27 will be “Nostalgia,” according to Travis Leonhardt, the co-owner of LionHeart Hall, who insists that “everybody has a story to tell.”
The other storytellers who will recount that moment of crystal-clear realization when “a light switch” when off in their heads will be Zane Cordova, Dawna Webb, Randy Wellbaum, Michelle Jones, Mark Anderson, Steve Binder, Sam Bejarano and host Micah Coombs.
LionHeart Hall is Cache Valley’s newest performance venue and social gathering place. In addition to provided a new home for the Cache Theatre Company, the hall also hosts recitals, music performances, weddings and other events.
Tickets for the Light Switch Stories event on June 27 can be purchased at the door for just $5.
LionHeart Hall is located at 480 North, 100 East in Logan.