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R. Mark Melville

@rmarkmel.bsky.social

Assistant editor of Utah Historical Quarterly. Holiday enthusiast, casual trail runner, cat dad. Views are my own. πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ

200 Followers  |  372 Following  |  313 Posts  |  Joined: 26.02.2025
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Posts by R. Mark Melville (@rmarkmel.bsky.social)

The cover of "Millennial Star" in August 1970. It has a black-and-white photograph of a newlywed couple; the wife has flowers in her curly hair and large eyes. The husband has a beard and longish hair.

The cover of "Millennial Star" in August 1970. It has a black-and-white photograph of a newlywed couple; the wife has flowers in her curly hair and large eyes. The husband has a beard and longish hair.

Whenever I have to dig through the Millennial Star on Archive.org, those 1970s eyes get me.

23.02.2026 22:48 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Dear friends of Ardis,
This is W Paul Reeve, posting in behalf of Ardis, writing a post I hoped I'd never have to write. I am following her end of life instructions. Ardis passed away. Jenny Lund and I are taking care of Zilly, also carefully following her instructions. We will reach out with information as we know more regarding a graveside service. There will be no funeral and no viewing. Ardis was adamant about this. She threatened to haunt me should I deviate from her wishes. I take that threat seriously. She left it in writing: "I swear, if anybody overrules me to hold anything more than a simple graveside service, I will come back to haunt you all!" But we WILL gather and remember her. If someone with musical ability (I have none) is willing to help us sing her home to her mom and dad with a few songs at the graveside, I'd be grateful.

(Screenshot from Facebook)

Dear friends of Ardis, This is W Paul Reeve, posting in behalf of Ardis, writing a post I hoped I'd never have to write. I am following her end of life instructions. Ardis passed away. Jenny Lund and I are taking care of Zilly, also carefully following her instructions. We will reach out with information as we know more regarding a graveside service. There will be no funeral and no viewing. Ardis was adamant about this. She threatened to haunt me should I deviate from her wishes. I take that threat seriously. She left it in writing: "I swear, if anybody overrules me to hold anything more than a simple graveside service, I will come back to haunt you all!" But we WILL gather and remember her. If someone with musical ability (I have none) is willing to help us sing her home to her mom and dad with a few songs at the graveside, I'd be grateful. (Screenshot from Facebook)

Oh no 😞

23.02.2026 16:45 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
NANCY BY ERNIE BUSHMILLER 
P1- NANCY IS CARRYING AN AXE DOWNTOWN 

P2- NANCY IS GOING TO CHOP DOWN A SMALL TREE 

P3- NANCY TURNS AROUND AND SEES A MAN, IT’S GEORGE WASHINGTON!?

P4-FRIGHTENED NANCY DROPS THE AXE AND FLEES DOWN THE STREET 
 
THE MAN WAS A ACTOR DRESSED LIKE GEORGE WASHINGTON, ON HIS BACK WAS AN ADVERTISEMENT…

WASHINGTON'S 
     BIRTHDAY
         BALL
      TONIGHT
      AT TOWN
           HALL

NANCY BY ERNIE BUSHMILLER P1- NANCY IS CARRYING AN AXE DOWNTOWN P2- NANCY IS GOING TO CHOP DOWN A SMALL TREE P3- NANCY TURNS AROUND AND SEES A MAN, IT’S GEORGE WASHINGTON!? P4-FRIGHTENED NANCY DROPS THE AXE AND FLEES DOWN THE STREET THE MAN WAS A ACTOR DRESSED LIKE GEORGE WASHINGTON, ON HIS BACK WAS AN ADVERTISEMENT… WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY BALL TONIGHT AT TOWN HALL

Nancy By Ernie Bushmiller
February 22,1947

22.02.2026 22:05 β€” πŸ‘ 386    πŸ” 33    πŸ’¬ 11    πŸ“Œ 5
Post image

Sow hate, reap hate. Sow love, reap love.

It’s really that simple.

19.02.2026 20:00 β€” πŸ‘ 102    πŸ” 30    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 2

The first specimen in the video looks like a trophy. And it deserves a trophy!

19.02.2026 23:58 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

forward = ⏩

foreword = πŸ“š

19.02.2026 20:11 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I'm optimistic about CaussΓ©'s environmental ethic.

I just hope Gilbert doesn't become the DOGE of the Church, as he seems to have already been for the Deseret News and BYU.

19.02.2026 19:08 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Had a super awkward church choir practice because the director and the pianist, both strong-minded women, were fighting over various things, including the fact that the pianist had her emotional-support parrot on her shoulder 🦜

16.02.2026 00:09 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Just recently I was wondering how long the Valentine's "love bug" trope has been around

14.02.2026 16:11 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A shelf of books and periodicals: Latter-day Saint Historical Studies; Wayfare; Utah Historical Quarterly; BYU Studies; Mormon Historical Studies; The Annals of the Southern Mission; Elias; Settling the Valley, Proclaiming the Gospel; Gracing; At the Pulpit; Off for the Holy Land; Oh, It's a Great Life; Gathering as One; Rediscovering the Sites of the Restoration.

A shelf of books and periodicals: Latter-day Saint Historical Studies; Wayfare; Utah Historical Quarterly; BYU Studies; Mormon Historical Studies; The Annals of the Southern Mission; Elias; Settling the Valley, Proclaiming the Gospel; Gracing; At the Pulpit; Off for the Holy Land; Oh, It's a Great Life; Gathering as One; Rediscovering the Sites of the Restoration.

A shelf of books: The Saints Abroad; From the Outside Looking In; Conversations with Mormon Historians; A Historian in Zion; Mapping Mormonism; Sundance Film Festival 2020 and 2019.

A shelf of books: The Saints Abroad; From the Outside Looking In; Conversations with Mormon Historians; A Historian in Zion; Mapping Mormonism; Sundance Film Festival 2020 and 2019.

Spent some time reorganizing my shelf of various books and periodicals that I've worked on over the years.

13.02.2026 20:46 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A medieval manuscript illustration from the British Library royal ms 20 a ii f3r.
Image shows a medieval king in a green gown and wearing a crown. He is stood within a burning castle with arms in the air and a look of 'oh dear' on his face

A medieval manuscript illustration from the British Library royal ms 20 a ii f3r. Image shows a medieval king in a green gown and wearing a crown. He is stood within a burning castle with arms in the air and a look of 'oh dear' on his face

"this is fine"

British Library Manuscript - royal ms 20 a ii f3r

16.11.2024 11:36 β€” πŸ‘ 8659    πŸ” 2221    πŸ’¬ 84    πŸ“Œ 115

When I was an eight-year-old playing Mario Paint, I wildly misunderstood how it worked. I heard that for animated movies, every scene had to be drawn by hand, and I thought it applied to video games as wellβ€”so anything that anyone ever drew on Mario Paint, someone had already drawn before.

08.02.2026 23:49 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Oof, I love Nancy and Fritzi, but it's so disappointing to see the man pushing the chair in the fourth strip.

08.02.2026 23:34 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
Maxwell speaks to a blond man and says, "I'll have to see some form of identification."

Maxwell speaks to a blond man and says, "I'll have to see some form of identification."

Smart says, "I may even have to search you."

Smart says, "I may even have to search you."

The blond man says, "Oh . . .," with a satisfied smile.

The blond man says, "Oh . . .," with a satisfied smile.

Smart, with a suspicious look on his face, says, "On second thought, I think identification will be quite enough."

Smart, with a suspicious look on his face, says, "On second thought, I think identification will be quite enough."

In the middle of the night, I randomly remembered this slightly queerphobic exchange from "Get Smart" from 1968.

08.02.2026 23:19 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This makes me feel better about the two (large) cookies I ate today.

07.02.2026 03:46 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Text from a book that says "If such a central tenant"

Text from a book that says "If such a central tenant"

This is at least the third time in the last week or so that I've seen an author say "tenant" when they mean to say "tenet."

06.02.2026 20:16 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image Post image

From Missouri State Univ.'s Henry Tsai; "Are you an Able Bodied Prehistoric American, or a Freak of Nature who Lived in Utah Ages Ago?" @utahpaleo-ufop.bsky.social @paleontologizing.bsky.social @jeremybroberts.bsky.social @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social

05.02.2026 15:49 β€” πŸ‘ 18    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I don't have one iota of sympathy for such people.

02.02.2026 22:24 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

7/7. There are so many holidays that are more meaningful, yet they don't get printed on calendars, while Groundhog Day gets special mention. These better holidays include Mardi Gras, Patriots' Day, Earth Day, Arbor Day, Cinco de Mayo, and (in Utah) Pioneer Day.

02.02.2026 17:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

6/7. There is nothing to do for Groundhog Day if you don't live in Pennsylvania, unless you're going to watch the movie. When my niece was six, she said her favorite February holidays were "Groundog Day" and "Valentimes Day." But what is even fun about Groundhog Day? There is NOTHING.

02.02.2026 17:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

5/7. They always talk about "the" groundhog, that this one animal in the Eastern US gets to determine the season for the entire country.

02.02.2026 17:07 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

4/7. They *predetermine the outcome.* They could at least pretend to see if the groundhog saw its shadow, or see if it *could* see its shadow, but they determine the outcome beforehand. They're taking something that's fake and making it even faker.

02.02.2026 17:07 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

3/7. Punxsutawney's celebration is a local celebration. Why does one local community get so much attention?

02.02.2026 17:07 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

2/7. Candlemas is part of the liturgical calendar. It would be better to list February 2 as Candlemas than as Groundhog Day.

02.02.2026 17:07 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I hate that they bother putting Groundhog Day on the calendar and make a big deal of it on the news. Like, what the heck?! A thread.🧡
1/7. It's based on obscure, unscientific European folklore. I don't have a problem with folklore, but why does this weird element of folklore get its own holiday?

02.02.2026 17:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

One of the most common spelling mistakes I see is when people say "lead" when they mean "led." "Led" is the past tense of "lead."

It's totally understandable, though. "Read" is the past tense of "read," and "lead" the metal is also pronounced the same way as "led."

27.01.2026 17:00 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I worked for the 2019 and 2020 Festivals as a copyeditor, and I enjoyed the free tickets I got then. I'm certain I won't attend in Boulder. But I also am not that big on movies anyway.

27.01.2026 00:50 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I wish I could get frozen custard for five cents!

26.01.2026 16:20 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
2026 General Utah History Article Award Please click the link to complete this form.

Nominate articles here: form.jotform.com/260117634942...

23.01.2026 19:44 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Best Book on Utah History 2026 Please click the link to complete this form.

Are you a publisher or author of Utah history? Nominate your work for the Utah Historical Society's annual awards! UHS is accepting any Utah history published in 2025.

Nominate books here until March 15: form.jotform.com/260117623913...

23.01.2026 19:44 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0