Halloween may be over, but if you are walking down Center Street tonight, you may see what you think is a late-coming Halloween costume.

In brown Franciscan robes, Ted J. Warner will lecture about the Spanish settlement of the American continent, particularly our area and neighboring states. His address is part of a lecture series to be held at the Crandall Historical Printing Museum today at 7 p.m. 

“We want to honor the Spanish-American influence, and those who kept records of this area,” Warner said. “By telling the story of the ‘forgotten friar’ I hope to teach people about the rich Spanish history that we have here.”

As the former dean of the BYU College of Humanities, Warner has spent considerable time studying the colonization of Utah. He co-wrote a book published in 1976 commemorating the Spanish expedition coming to Utah in 1776.

Because he will be presenting the lecture in a first-person “lament,” Warner will be wearing the working religious robes of Roman Catholic leaders such as Escalante and Dominguez. As part of the writing team, he retraced the trail through the Western states and published, in both languages, a book giving Father Dominguez his earned credit as well as Escalante.

Louis Crandall, founder of the Crandall Historical Printing Museum, is excited for the opportunity the museum has to host the upcoming Lecture Series.

“We welcome all opportunities to educate,” Crandall said. “We believe it is important to remember those who have taken the time to keep records — especially of our area,” Crandall said. He encouraged the public to come to the lectures, visit the museum on East Center Street and learn through hands-on experience the methods of invention and printing.

In his address, Warner will speak of explorers who settled Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico and discuss the significant maps and journals which guided early expeditions through these areas. 

When the groups came to Utah, they were very happy with the area and the native people, but had to push on for Monterrey. Warner believes if they had not gone on to California, then Utah would have even more Spanish names of cities and counties.

“We owe a lot to them, and we cannot forget it,” Warner said.

The Crandall Printing Museum’s mission statement emphasizes the importance of fostering education and academic pursuits that show how writing and printing have evolved and impacted historical events.

“The Printing Museum is such a unique gem that we are lucky to have here in Provo,” said Joel Racker, CEO of the Utah Information Bureau. “Printing presses are what opened up understanding and knowledge to the people, and allowed the Reformation to happen.”

All events in the Lecture Series are free and open to the public. Information can be obtained by calling the Crandall Historical Printing Museum at 801-377-7777 or visiting the Web site crandallprintingmuseum.org.

The museum is located at 275 E. Center St.