Hartt Wixom

Hartt Partridge Wixom
Born1933
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Died2017
St. George, Utah, U.S.
OccupationWriter
Years active1961–2017
Notable work
  • Jacob Hamblin
  • The Cokeville Miracle: When Angels Intervene
  • Elk and Elk Hunting
  • Hunting and Fishing Guide to Utah
  • Improve the World, Go Fishing
Spouse
G. Judene Dalebout
​
(m. 1958)​
Children7

Hartt Partridge Wixom (1933 – 2017) was an American writer who specialized in the topics of hunting, fishing, wildlife and environmental protection, and Latter-Day Saints (LDS) history. His most recent works focus on early LDS history: Jacob Hamblin[1] (2008), Profiles in Mormon Courage[2] (2007), and Critiquing the Critics of Joseph Smith[3] (2005). Another book on early LDS history, Edward Partridge[4] (1998), is a biography of Wixom's great-great-grandfather,[5] the first presiding bishop of the LDS church.[6] In 1998 Wixom gave the annual Juanita Brooks Lecture at Dixie State College in St. George, Utah on the subject of Jacob Hamblin.[7] In 2009 Wixom was the featured speaker at the annual Jacob Hamblin Days celebration in Kanab, Utah.[8]

Hunting and fishing books by Wixom include Fishing: The Extra Edge[9] (2006), Personalized Fishing Guide to Utah[10] (2001), Improve the World, Go Fishing[11] (1999), Fishing and Hunting Guide to Utah[12] (1990), Elk and Elk Hunting[13] (1986), and Penny Pinching Guide to Bigger Fish and Better Hunting[14] (1980). Wixom helped organize the first chapter of Trout Unlimited in 1965, serving as its first president.[15]

Wixom co-authored the book When Angels Intervene to Save the Children[16] (originally entitled Trial by Terror[17] and first published in 1987; revised and updated 1994) with his wife, Judene Wixom, on the Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis of 1986 in which their 12-year-old son Kamron was taken hostage; CBS made the television movie To Save the Children[18][19] in 1994, based on that book. In 2015 the book was retitled The Cokeville Miracle: When Angels Intervene and made into the feature film The Cokeville Miracle by filmmaker T.C. Christensen. Wixom also published a work of fiction in 1998, Benjamin Lowery[20] and authored the written portion of the graphic arts book Utah,[21] published in 1974.

Wixom graduated in 1951 from South High School (Salt Lake City), received bachelor's and master's degrees in communications from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, and completed some post graduate work in history at the University of Utah.[22] Starting his career in journalism prior to 1960, Wixom served as editor-in-chief of BYU's The Daily Universe.[23] By 1961, The Deseret News, a daily newspaper in Salt Lake City, Utah, had hired Wixom as an outdoor sports writer.[24] In 1970, Field & Stream magazine named Wixom their Rocky Mountain field editor, a position he held for 5 years.[25][26] Wixom was the founding editor of his own Utah Outdoors magazine and served as Wyoming editor for Western Outdoors magazine from 1981-86 after moving to that state in 1981.[15] He was also a frequent contributor to the monthly periodicals Outdoor Life and Sports Afield[26] and served as chairman of the Fish Committee, Utah Wildlife Federation.[25]

During the 1960s and 70s, Wixom's interests in hunting and fishing brought him into contact with wildlife conservationists and environmentalists working to preserve or restore clean air and water in the American West.[25] As he became increasingly outspoken in favor of federal regulations for clean air and water, The Deseret News named him their environmental editor,[27] the first of its kind in the Mountain States.[25][28] Wixom collaborated with actor Robert Redford in 1972[29] to preserve the free flow of the Provo River through central Utah.

  1. ^ Wixom, Hartt (2008). Jacob Hamblin. Springville, Utah: CFI. ISBN 978-1-55517-273-2.
  2. ^ Wixom, Hartt (2007). Profiles in Mormon Courage. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55517-852-9.
  3. ^ Wixom, Hartt (2005). Critiquing the Critics of Joseph Smith. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55517-834-5.
  4. ^ Wixom, Hartt (1998). Edward Partridge. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55517-362-3.
  5. ^ "Book Notices". Journal of Mormon History. 24 (2): 237. Fall 1998.
  6. ^ Ludlow, Daniel H. (1992). Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillan. p. 1681. ISBN 0-02-879600-4.
  7. ^ "Annual Juanita Brooks Lecture Series". Dixie State College Val A. Browning Library. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  8. ^ Chamberlain, Von Del (June 3, 2009). "Celebrate Kanab's Heritage during Jacob Hamblin Days June 18–20". Southern Utah News. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  9. ^ Wixom, Hartt (2006). Fishing: The Extra Edge. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55517-867-3.
  10. ^ Wixom, Hartt (2001). Personalized Fishing Guide to Utah. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55517-520-7.
  11. ^ Wixom, Hartt (1998). Improve the world go fishing. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55517-360-9.
  12. ^ Wixom, Hartt (1999). Fishing and Hunting Guide to Utah (3rd ed.). Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press. ISBN 978-0-87480-633-5.
  13. ^ Wixom, Hartt (1990). Elk and Elk Hunting. Tucson, Arizona: Treasure Chest Publications. ISBN 978-0-915272-33-4.
  14. ^ Rees, Claire F.; Hartt Wixom (1980). Penny Pinching Guide to Bigger Fish and Better Hunting. location: New Win Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8329-3192-5.
  15. ^ a b Wixom, Hartt (1999). Fishing and Hunting Guide to Utah (3rd ed.). Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press. pp. 4 (Foreword by Dave Freed). ISBN 978-0-87480-633-5.
  16. ^ Wixom, Hartt; Judene Wixom (1994). When Angels Intervene to Save the Children, (revised ed.). Springville, Utah: Bonneville subsidiary of Cedar Fort Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55517-144-5.
  17. ^ Wixom, Hartt; Judene Wixom (1987). Trial by Terror (1st ed.). Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers and Distributors. ISBN 978-0-88290-289-0.
  18. ^ Bennett, Carolyn. "Films by Latter-Day Saint filmmakers". ldsfilms.com. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  19. ^ Pestalozzi, Manuel. "To Save the Children". Internet data movie base movie review. IMDb subsidiary of amazon.com. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  20. ^ Wixom, Hartt (1998). Benjamin Lowery. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55517-361-6.
  21. ^ Muench, David; Hartt Wixom (1974). Utah. Portland, Oregon: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-912856-11-7.
  22. ^ "Feature Authors". Cedar Fort Publishing. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  23. ^ "Don Woodward and former editors of the Daily Universe, 1960". Brigham Young University photographs archive. Brigham Young University. Retrieved December 16, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  24. ^ Wixom, Hartt (August 5, 1961). "State Readies Strawberry for Treatment". The Deseret News. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  25. ^ a b c d "New Field & Stream Editors". Field & Stream: 16–18. June 1970. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  26. ^ a b Wixom, Hartt (2006). Fishing: the extra edge. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Publishing. pp. Preface. ISBN 978-1-55517-867-3.
  27. ^ Flannery, John S. (February 27, 1970). "News Action Praised". The Deseret News. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  28. ^ "Deseret News Appoints Environmental Watchdog". The Deseret News. December 19, 1969. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  29. ^ Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc (March 1972). "What can you do to clean up the environment? Plenty!". Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Changing Times. 26 (3): 9. {{cite journal}}: |last1= has generic name (help)