Show Library Programs On April 20 at 7 pm p.m. Professor Jan Harola Harolo Brunvand will debunk a lot lotof lotof of f true stories have been telling for years In the first program sponsored by the he newly founded Friends o of the Salt Lake County Library System Professor Brunvand Brunvand Brunvand Brun Brun- vand will discuss his book The Vanishing Hitchhiker American Urban Legends and Their Their Meanings Meanings at the Whitmore Library 2197 E. E South The Vanishing Hitchhiker Hitchhiker Hitchhiker Hitch Hitch- hiker was published in 1981 to to literary literary literary liter liter- ary acclaim It contains a collection of widely believed believed believed be be- tales which have been circulated all over the country or in some cases all over the world They sound real but they're simply not true Brunvand has tried to trace the sources of many of these tales but with little lit little little lit lit- tle luck They're usually told with a sincere belief in their reliability by a person person person per per- son who heard it from a friend who heard it from another friend who claimed it it- actually happened happened happened hap hap- to his cousin or orsome orsome orsome some other relative And the same stories crop up from Delaware to Oregon from Wisconsin to Texas and all points in between Each tale has regional variations with local details details details de de- de- de tails that make it seem authentic For instance one version of the story of ofa ofa ofa a wrapped gift-wrapped dead cat stolen from the back seat of a car is set in Salt Lakes Lake's Cottonwood Mall with the thief unwrapping the feline corpse in Pennys Penny's cafeteria The vanishing hitchhiker for which the book is named in the Utah version becomes becomes becomes be be- comes one of the three Also a supposed supposed supposed sup sup- posed true story about the kidnapping of an in infant infant infant in- in fant allegedly took place at Lagoon although the identical story has been set in amusement parks from the East Coast to Disneyland Professor Brunvand began began began be be- gan compiling these tales ales when he was a graduate student at Indiana University University University sity where he received his Phd Ph.d. Since 1966 he has been a member of the faculty faculty fa- fa culty of the English Department Department Department De De- De- De at the University of Utah Hes He's the author of ofa a textbook The Study of American Folklore and has published more than tha sixty articles on orv folklore in magazines and scholarly journals The Friends of the Salt Lake County Library System System System tem is new and growing organization with the goal of encouraging Community ity support of the county Library System and the many services they provide provide provide pro pro- vide to enrich the lives of Salt Lake County resi resi- dents The is invited to attend Dr Brunvand's program on April 20 Admission Admission Ad Ad- mission if free |