Charles S. Peterson, affectionately known as “Chas,” was professor emeritus of history at Utah State University when this written. He earned BA and MA degrees from Brigham Young University and a PhD from the University of Utah. He is a historian of the American West with areas of special interest in Mormon and Resource Management Studies. He taught at four Utah universities and colleges. He was director of the Utah Historical Society and the Man and His Bread Museum, as well as editor of the Utah Historical Quarterly, the Western Historical Quarterly, and a University of Utah Press series on Utah history. He was the recipient of grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Association for State and Local History, and the Huntington Library.