Skip to main content

Roscoe A. Grover papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 1452

Scope and Contents

Contains newspaper clippings, radio broadcast programs, reproductions of paintings, correspondence, diary entries, pamphlets, and miscellaneous items. The materials deal with Grover's career as a broadcaster and as an artist. Also includes photographs of Grover, David O. McKay, Spencer W. Kimball, and Marion G. Romney. The collection also contains two scrapbooks containing photographs, newspaper articles, other miscellaneous artifacts documenting Grover and his KSL-TV show "Uncle Roscoe's Playtime Party," and twelve cartoon figures mounted on four pieces of poster board signed "Uncle Roscoe" from the Coffee Shop Hotel in Utah. There are photographs of Grover's son, Paul Grover and 22 copy photographs of paintings by Grover, originally painted in the 1960s and 1970s. Paintings feature persons and scenes from the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Finally, contains correspondence between Grover and others pertaining to his career and life. Dated 1931-1984.

Dates

  • approximately 1931-1984

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Roscoe A. Grover papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Coordinating Committee.

Biographical History

Roscoe A. Grover (1901-1984) was a Mormon painter and radio personality in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Roscoe Abner Grover was born on July 21, 1901 to Roscoe E. and Amy Bigler Grover in Nephi, Utah. He served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New York, where he assisted with the production of the first Hill Cumorah Pageant and the dedication of the Angel Moroni Monument. He graduated the University of Utah and New York University. He also attended graduate school at Columbia University, where he later taught. He married Arlene Harris on September 14, 1934 in the Salt Lake Temple. In 1945 he returned to Utah to manage KSUB in Cedar City, and in 1950 he was transferred to Salt Lake City. He was one of the pioneers of radio in Utah, an announcer of the early Tabernacle Choir broadcasts, and a popular artist and theatre performer. He died on December 12, 1984.

Extent

1 oversize folder (0.2 linear feet)

1 folio (1.33 linear ft.)

2 cartons (2 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Arranged in original order.

Custodial History

Donated by Roscoe Grover in multiple installments in 1978. Part of the materials were transferred to the Photo Archives in 1995. The other portions of the collection were processed with separate collections established for each installment under the following call numbers: MSS 1722, MSS 1809, and MSS 3706. In 2013 these collections were reintegrated as a single collection.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated; Roscoe Grover; 1978.

Appraisal

Utah and American West and LDS cultural, social, and religious history (20th Century Western & Mormon Manuscripts collection development policy, 5.VII, 2007).

Pertains to a popular artist and radio figure in Utah.

Processing Information

Processed; Katie Connors, student processor; John Murphy, curator; 2008.

Re-processed and addition added by Kelsey Samuelsen, student manuscript processor, and John M. Murphy, curator; 2013.

Title
Register of Roscoe A. Grover papers
Status
Under Revision
Author
Katie Connors, student processor and John Murphy, curator; 2008
Date
2008 November 12
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English in Latin script.

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States