R. Mark Melville
@rmarkmel.bsky.social
Assistant editor of Utah Historical Quarterly. Holiday enthusiast, casual trail runner, cat dad. Views are my own. 🏳️🌈
Reposted by R. Mark Melville
Dec. 23, 1925: Salt Lake City orders street Santas to remove their false whiskers, in compliance with a law against wearing masks in public. Miffed because the statute was intended to ban masked Ku Klux Klan parades, the hooded order complained that Santa beards should also be illegal.
December 23, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Dec. 23, 1925: Salt Lake City orders street Santas to remove their false whiskers, in compliance with a law against wearing masks in public. Miffed because the statute was intended to ban masked Ku Klux Klan parades, the hooded order complained that Santa beards should also be illegal.
Reposted by R. Mark Melville
Need some festive cheer? Father Christmas' ABC, published in 1894, is chock-full of delights.
1. The cover artwork, as charming now as the day it was published
2. Decorating the tree with little toys
3. 'T is for the Toys, that cure all our ills'
4. 'R for the Reindeer'
1894.13.170
1. The cover artwork, as charming now as the day it was published
2. Decorating the tree with little toys
3. 'T is for the Toys, that cure all our ills'
4. 'R for the Reindeer'
1894.13.170
December 22, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Need some festive cheer? Father Christmas' ABC, published in 1894, is chock-full of delights.
1. The cover artwork, as charming now as the day it was published
2. Decorating the tree with little toys
3. 'T is for the Toys, that cure all our ills'
4. 'R for the Reindeer'
1894.13.170
1. The cover artwork, as charming now as the day it was published
2. Decorating the tree with little toys
3. 'T is for the Toys, that cure all our ills'
4. 'R for the Reindeer'
1894.13.170
Reposted by R. Mark Melville
No room for this family.
December 15, 2025 at 1:00 PM
No room for this family.
Reposted by R. Mark Melville
I tried to find a photo of Christopher Plummer riding a bike, and instead I found this photo of a guy named Chris who's a plumber, which is even better.
December 14, 2025 at 10:31 AM
I tried to find a photo of Christopher Plummer riding a bike, and instead I found this photo of a guy named Chris who's a plumber, which is even better.
The Munsters was the better series, but The Addams Family had the better Christmas episode.
December 18, 2025 at 2:54 AM
The Munsters was the better series, but The Addams Family had the better Christmas episode.
At the Utah Historical Society's holiday party, I received the "Year-Round Festive Footnote Fanatic Award." A pretty apt description.
December 17, 2025 at 6:29 PM
At the Utah Historical Society's holiday party, I received the "Year-Round Festive Footnote Fanatic Award." A pretty apt description.
I find it interesting that Utah gets a special shout-out in Merriam-Webster's end-of-year discussion of "touch grass."
Under the circumstances, I can't say it's cool, or fun, or delightful. But I can say it's *interesting*.
Under the circumstances, I can't say it's cool, or fun, or delightful. But I can say it's *interesting*.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
December 17, 2025 at 12:07 AM
I find it interesting that Utah gets a special shout-out in Merriam-Webster's end-of-year discussion of "touch grass."
Under the circumstances, I can't say it's cool, or fun, or delightful. But I can say it's *interesting*.
Under the circumstances, I can't say it's cool, or fun, or delightful. But I can say it's *interesting*.
TIL Canadian spelling is different than British spelling.
“Promoters of Canadian English say the federal government is sending the wrong message to the world with its recent use of British spelling in official documents.”
Linguistic experts urge Carney government to stop using British spellings | CBC News
Promoters of Canadian English say the federal government is sending the wrong message to the world with its recent use of British spelling in official documents, including the 2025 federal budget.
www.cbc.ca
December 16, 2025 at 4:44 PM
TIL Canadian spelling is different than British spelling.
It's not even the winter solstice, and the hyacinths are already sprouting. 😟
December 13, 2025 at 9:38 PM
It's not even the winter solstice, and the hyacinths are already sprouting. 😟
Reposted by R. Mark Melville
UPDATE: Another Chicago-area church has put up an immigration-themed Nativity scene.
A church member at Urban Village Church sent this one along, where Mary, Joseph and Jesus are gone and replaced with a sign that reads: “Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding.”
A church member at Urban Village Church sent this one along, where Mary, Joseph and Jesus are gone and replaced with a sign that reads: “Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding.”
December 7, 2025 at 10:31 PM
UPDATE: Another Chicago-area church has put up an immigration-themed Nativity scene.
A church member at Urban Village Church sent this one along, where Mary, Joseph and Jesus are gone and replaced with a sign that reads: “Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding.”
A church member at Urban Village Church sent this one along, where Mary, Joseph and Jesus are gone and replaced with a sign that reads: “Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding.”
I own over two thousand Christmas songs, and I just want to say how much I enjoy Kylie Minogue's "Kylie Christmas (Snow Queen Edition)" album. It's a mix of both classic-sounding and newer songs.
December 10, 2025 at 6:07 PM
I own over two thousand Christmas songs, and I just want to say how much I enjoy Kylie Minogue's "Kylie Christmas (Snow Queen Edition)" album. It's a mix of both classic-sounding and newer songs.
The Fall 2025 issue of Utah Historical Quarterly is now available! By coincidence, we had several submissions about mining, so we were able to put them all together. scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/uhq/issu...
Volume 93 Issue 4 | Utah Historical Quarterly | Scholarly Publishing Collective
scholarlypublishingcollective.org
December 8, 2025 at 3:32 PM
The Fall 2025 issue of Utah Historical Quarterly is now available! By coincidence, we had several submissions about mining, so we were able to put them all together. scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/uhq/issu...
Reposted by R. Mark Melville
He’s going all in on this anti-woke thing.
December 3, 2025 at 2:47 PM
He’s going all in on this anti-woke thing.
You might know that Abraham Smoot, the namesake of BYU's current administration building, owned slaves. But you probably didn't know that he once told a group of five hundred children that Santa isn't real.
"Correspondence," Deseret News, December 31, 1873, 765.
"Correspondence," Deseret News, December 31, 1873, 765.
December 3, 2025 at 4:33 PM
You might know that Abraham Smoot, the namesake of BYU's current administration building, owned slaves. But you probably didn't know that he once told a group of five hundred children that Santa isn't real.
"Correspondence," Deseret News, December 31, 1873, 765.
"Correspondence," Deseret News, December 31, 1873, 765.
I am so relieved that Windows 11 finally lets me show the labels on the taskbar! Now I feel like I can actually work efficiently again.
December 1, 2025 at 6:06 PM
I am so relieved that Windows 11 finally lets me show the labels on the taskbar! Now I feel like I can actually work efficiently again.
I love using @kindexarchives.bsky.social to transcribe my grandpa's journal, but sometimes the auto transcript is hilariously off. Grandpa wrote that he went "to pick up a watch for Darlene's birthday," but the transcription said he went "to pick up a translated (Japanese) dictation."
December 1, 2025 at 1:49 AM
I love using @kindexarchives.bsky.social to transcribe my grandpa's journal, but sometimes the auto transcript is hilariously off. Grandpa wrote that he went "to pick up a watch for Darlene's birthday," but the transcription said he went "to pick up a translated (Japanese) dictation."
Reposted by R. Mark Melville
Happy birthday Mark Twain, born #onthisday in 1835. The best known of his books is Huckleberry Finn, not so well known is Jap Herron which, according to a woman named Emily Grant Hutchings, he dictated from beyond the grave via a ouija board... publicdomainreview.org/collection/j... #OTD
November 30, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Happy birthday Mark Twain, born #onthisday in 1835. The best known of his books is Huckleberry Finn, not so well known is Jap Herron which, according to a woman named Emily Grant Hutchings, he dictated from beyond the grave via a ouija board... publicdomainreview.org/collection/j... #OTD
It was a mad dash to finish proofreading the next issue of Wayfare magazine before Thanksgiving, but we got it done. It's always fun to see Wayfare go out in the world. It will arrive in mailboxes soon!
www.wayfaremagazine.org/p/announcing...
www.wayfaremagazine.org/p/announcing...
Announcing Issue 6: The Spirit of Prophecy
Subscribe today to receive our next issue sent to your home
www.wayfaremagazine.org
November 30, 2025 at 5:34 PM
It was a mad dash to finish proofreading the next issue of Wayfare magazine before Thanksgiving, but we got it done. It's always fun to see Wayfare go out in the world. It will arrive in mailboxes soon!
www.wayfaremagazine.org/p/announcing...
www.wayfaremagazine.org/p/announcing...
"O Christmas Tree" is a song that everyone knows, yet no one knows the words. 🎄🎶
November 28, 2025 at 11:28 PM
"O Christmas Tree" is a song that everyone knows, yet no one knows the words. 🎄🎶
Reposted by R. Mark Melville
This is a textbook example of a garden-path sentence. It sounds like the sentence is saying "If you see this post," but then it falls apart. It makes more sense with a comma: "If you see this, post your getaway vehicle.
Oh, and here's mine.
Oh, and here's mine.
November 25, 2025 at 11:03 PM
This is a textbook example of a garden-path sentence. It sounds like the sentence is saying "If you see this post," but then it falls apart. It makes more sense with a comma: "If you see this, post your getaway vehicle.
Oh, and here's mine.
Oh, and here's mine.
The first thing I ever edited that got published was when I convinced my mom to enter this Thanksgiving writing contest for the Deseret News, and she won! I made some poor editorial choices—I was in elementary school, after all—but she could have rejected them. www.deseret.com/1999/11/25/1...
Thanksgiving I remember least<BR>
Ping pong table makes do after real one breaks under meal
The Thanksgiving that I remember most was in 1979. My grandparents had flown in from New York, and all the married siblings had gathered at my parents home for a great day. We had spent days preparing...
www.deseret.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:45 AM
The first thing I ever edited that got published was when I convinced my mom to enter this Thanksgiving writing contest for the Deseret News, and she won! I made some poor editorial choices—I was in elementary school, after all—but she could have rejected them. www.deseret.com/1999/11/25/1...
Reposted by R. Mark Melville
Thanks to @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social we have discovered today is #WorldWalrusDay!
Our illustration from Millais' 'The Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland' 1904 might not be as expressive but we think it's just as majestic
📖BL.95/M
Our illustration from Millais' 'The Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland' 1904 might not be as expressive but we think it's just as majestic
📖BL.95/M
November 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Thanks to @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social we have discovered today is #WorldWalrusDay!
Our illustration from Millais' 'The Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland' 1904 might not be as expressive but we think it's just as majestic
📖BL.95/M
Our illustration from Millais' 'The Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland' 1904 might not be as expressive but we think it's just as majestic
📖BL.95/M
Reposted by R. Mark Melville
I did this commission for a trans friend, Laura Beth, who loves the bible and claims it is just as much her book as anybody else's.
I agree.
I agree.
November 24, 2025 at 1:00 PM
I did this commission for a trans friend, Laura Beth, who loves the bible and claims it is just as much her book as anybody else's.
I agree.
I agree.
Today I randomly remembered how twenty years ago, the Deseret News referred to Democrats as "Demos," not "Dems."
November 20, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Today I randomly remembered how twenty years ago, the Deseret News referred to Democrats as "Demos," not "Dems."