Lacy, Steve, 1951-

Dr. Steve Lacy (b.1951) is a Utah historian and the author of books including Posey: The Last Indian War, Last of the Bandit Riders . . . Revisited and The Lynching of Robert Marshall, Last in the West . His photograph collection, donated to the Utah State Historical Society (Mss C 472), includes images of the Castle Gate mine disaster, which killed over 170 miners in three explosions March 8, 1924.

Utah Governor Herbert B. Maw (1893-1990, Gov. 1941-1948) was born in Ogden, Utah to Emma Brown and Ephraim Goodman Maw, who later moved their family to Salt Lake City. After attending Latter Day Saint (LDS) High School and the University of Utah, Maw served in World War I as one of the army's first Mormon Chaplains. He married Florence Buehler in 1921. Having earned his J.D. degree at Northwestern University in 1927, Maw returned to the University of Utah to teach speech and political science from 1927-1940, and he served as Dean of Men from 1928-1936.

In 1928, Maw was elected to the state senate where he served until 1938. He was president of that body from 1934-1938. One of the Utah Democratic Party's more liberal members, Maw promoted old-age assistance programs, government control of public utilities, and direct primary elections. He won the Democratic Party's gubernatorial nomination in 1940 in the state's first primary election of that kind and went on to defeat his conservative opponent, Don B. Colton to become Utah's eighth governor.

As governor of the state of Utah, Maw reorganized various commissions, bureaus and boards under the somewhat controversial Publicity Industrial Department (PID) to promote tourism and new business. The PID built roads to scenic attractions in Southern Utah and built a natural history museum in Vernal. Maw's administration also built the "This is the Place Monument" at the mouth of Emigration Canyon. While governor, Maw supported a major highway building program and approved the creation of a state water and power board to oversee the use of Colorado River water within the state. During World War II, he successfully attracted military and other war related industries to Utah, creating many jobs and reviving the state's economy.

Herbert Maw was defeated in the 1948 gubernatorial election by Republican J. Bracken Lee. After his term as governor, he ran a private law practice until well into his 90s. He died in 1993.

From the guide to the Steve Lacy collection of Herbert B. Maw audio recordings, 1941-1946, (J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah)