Fourth-graders at 12 of Lehi's 13 elementary schools spent the 2025-26 school year swapping collectible cards featuring the city's historical markers after the Lehi Historical Society launched its inaugural trading-card program.
Each student received one of two card sets with duplicates, then traded with classmates to collect all 14 cards. Each card highlights one of the markers installed through the Lehi Historical Marker Program, which has unveiled 23 markers across the city to date.
The program, first reported by Lehi Free Press, was funded by a 2025 Lehi City Parks, Arts, Recreation, and Culture (PARC) grant and sponsored by HADCO Construction. Fourth-graders were chosen because Utah history is part of the fourth-grade curriculum.
School librarians led the trading activity, turning the card swaps into lessons about the people and places behind each marker. Jeana Christofferson, a Lehi Historical Society member who served as liaison between the society and the librarians, said she valued being part of educating students and teachers about a community she cares about deeply.
"We wanted children to understand that Lehi history isn't just something in a book," said Lara Bangerter, director of the Lehi Historical Society. "It is all around them. These cards give them something they can hold, trade and talk about with their friends."
Second year secured
The society announced the program will return for the 2026-27 school year after receiving funding in the 2026 PARC grant round. The Lehi City Council voted during an April 13, 2026, work session to distribute $861,997 in PARC tax funds across local organizations. The Lehi Historical Society and Archives was among the recipients.
Lehi voters approved the PARC tax in November 2021. Roughly $400,000 of the annual revenue goes to Cultural Organization Grants, according to the city's PARC tax page.
For Year 2, librarians plan to introduce the cards in January or February, giving students more time to trade and learn before the school year ends.
Essay contest capped the year
Alongside the trading cards, HADCO Construction's John David and Danaca Hadfield sponsored a spring essay contest called "Why Remembering Matters." Lehi fourth-graders wrote about what they would put on a historical marker of their own. Winners read their essays at the How Lehi Got Its Name Historical Marker Unveiling, where the Hadfields handed out prize checks totaling $900, including a $500 grand prize and two $200 awards.
More information about the markers and the winning essays is available at lehihistory.org.
Upcoming
- The trading-card program returns to Lehi elementary schools in January or February 2027.
