Dept. of Transportation. Central Records Section Lester Wire collection, 1888-1982.

This series contains a variety of materials related to Lester F. Wire and his introduction of the traffic signal in Salt Lake City, as well as other materials connected with Wire and his family. It also includes administrative records for the Wire Memorial Museum and Historical Association and the Lester Wire Memorial Library exhibit created after Wire's death.

Lester Farnsworth Wire was born September 3, 1887 to Franklin Charles Wire and Lida Farnsworth. He attended East Denver High School and then Salt Lake High School, and participated in football teams at those schools. Wire was also an expert marksman and won multiple awards in marksmanship.

After graduation from Salt Lake High School in 1909, Lester Wire attended the University of Utah to study law. After one term at the university he joined the Salt Lake City police force on February 21, 1910. He first walked a beat as a patrolman, and was later appointed head of the traffic detail. During his time leading the traffic squad he created and installed an electric traffic signal in Salt Lake City at the intersection of Second South and Main Street in 1912.

Wire enlisted in the United States Army on August 8, 1917 and organized an ambulance company at Fort Douglas, Utah. He was then sent to Camp Grant in Illinois and was promoted to Sergeant. Wire was sent overseas to France on September 17, 1918. After his honorable discharge on January 31, 1919 he returned to Salt Lake City and worked again as a patrolman, but was soon promoted to the Detective Bureau. In addition to his police duties he was an assistant coordinator of Civilian Protection during World War II. Wire coached the Salt Lake Police basketball team from 1938-1939. He was a detective until his retirement on January 1, 1946. The Wire family was connected with the Catholic Church in Salt Lake and Lester was baptized at the Cathedral of the Madeleine on September 3, 1948. Wire died in his home on April 14, 1958 and is buried at the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

After Lester Wire's death, his sister Edith Louise Wire established the Wire Memorial Museum and Historical Association. She created a museum exhibit about Lester in the family home in Salt Lake City and commissioned a bronze plaque of Lester and a replica of his first traffic signal. After Edith Wire's death in 1973 the museum was discontinued, and the display artifacts and other assets were transferred to the Utah State Highway Department (later the Utah Department of Transportation) in 1974. The new department library was named the Lester Wire Memorial Library in 1981 and it housed an exhibit about him using materials and funds from Edith Wire's trust.

Among the materials in the collection are photo albums with scenes from the Wire's family life and travels to California, Utah, and New York. Also included are family memorabilia such as a glass decoration, cards and letters from acquaintances, and newspaper clippings relating to personal family events.

A large portion of the collection is comprised of photographs and artifacts previously displayed at the Wire Memorial Museum and Historical Association. Photographs depict Lester Wire's early years, police and military service, and replicas of the 1912 traffic signal. Artifacts include Lester Wire's military uniform buttons and insignias, police whistle and hat badge, assorted medals, and the safety flag he used to alert vehicles of children's sledding areas.

The collection has a few audiovisual materials, which include two film reels of home movies taken by Lester Wire that record activities of him and Edith. These activities include a trip to Washington, D.C., the dedication of the Municipal Rose Garden at the Holy Cross Hospital, a picnic at Fairmont Park, Lester preparing for a hunting trip, a visit to the College of St. Mary-of-the-Wasatch, a visit to Lida and Franklin Wire's graves, etc. There are also copies of these film reels in DVD format as well as a mini DV cassette and Betamax tape.

Files also include administrative records concerning the Wire Memorial Museum and Historical Association such as a membership book, business correspondence, articles ofincorporation, and a list of officers and trustees. The collection includes legal correspondence and reports relating to Edith Wire's estate as well as reports updating the development of the Lester Wire Memorial Library exhibit from the Utah Department of Transportation. The collection also contains a compilation of biographical papers written by Edith Wire and photographs of Lester Wire submitted by Ruby B. Rasmussen, a fourth cousin to Lester Wire.